


The Time Keeper

by CParrish93



Series: Dragon Ball Super: The Time Keeper [1]
Category: Dragon Ball
Genre: Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-12
Updated: 2019-05-12
Packaged: 2020-01-12 00:29:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 13
Words: 46,576
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18435278
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CParrish93/pseuds/CParrish93
Summary: After the arrival of a new Saiyan on Earth, and the revelation of a new threat, one that threatens even the gods, The Z-Warriors are forced to confront a host of threats, old and new in order to maintain the precious balance. But all their hopes may rest on that newest of Saiyans, a feisty teenager with a strange connection to the threat. Will she be their salvation, or will the balance be upset permanently? Enter Arame, the newest hero of the Dragon Universe!





	1. Beginnings

Prologue: Captive  
Arame opened her eyes for the first time in a long time. Her head was pounding, and she was almost blinded by the light from above her. At present, she was in some kind of sphere...like a caged animal. She was wearing a simple jumpsuit of dark gray with a strange gothic hourglass symbol emblazoned upon it.  
Aside from this, she knew nothing about her immediate situation, and her headache was getting worse. Her amygdala was flaring, bringing her rage to uncontrollable heights. It was likely a result of that tone she kept hearing at the edge of her senses.  
She yelled and crashed into the side of the cell. It did nothing but make her angrier. Arame pounded her fists against that same wall with blinding speed. Still nothing happened.  
As she was frenzying, a door opened across the way and a strange individual walked in. He was tall and thin, with long white hair and skin that glowed a strange silvery color. His eyes were menacing and yellow, and he wore a strange black robe with the hourglass symbol on its chest. The same symbol adorning Arame's jumpsuit.  
"My favorite specimen, awake at last," said the new arrival. "Allow me to make your acquaintance. My name is Chronos, the Time Keeper..."  
"I'm Arame," the other hissed, "and I'm gonna kill you!" She punched the cell again, with such force that a mountain would have felt it.  
Chronos stared at her blankly. "Ah, yes, you are truly a member of such a brutish race. Thankfully you're an endangered species."  
Arame yelled, channeling great power through her body, building her Ki to immense levels.  
"I appreciate that," said Chronos. "I use your energy to power my ship, you know. The same with my other specimens. But you have the most, by far."  
The wave of Ki energy she fired at the door was blinding, and so powerful that the wall of the cell began to glow and quiver slightly.  
"I see that you are ready at last," said Chronos.  
Arame stopped, her energy levels depleting rapidly. "What?!"  
"The stabilization," Chronos went on, "is almost ready to begin."  
Arame's rage had built to unmanageable levels. She felt like she was about to explode, and her Ki was building again. She couldn't stop it from overflowing to the point of eruption.  
Her eyes glowed a brilliant white, pupils vanishing. Her energy burst outward in a brilliant flash of yellowish-white. This time, the cell couldn't hold the power she put out. It was crushed, and the room she was in cracked. Chronos had already vanished in a twinkle of light.  
Arame heard air seeping out and realized that there was vacuum on the other side of the walls. No, the hull. She was in a vessel of some kind. She burst into the other room with incredible speed and sealed the door behind her as the hull of the room she'd been in was finally shattered.  
An alarm blared.  
"Hull breach in sector B-2!" said a voice over an intercom. "Get down there and investigate!"  
Arame was already moving. Her brain was still frizzing out on the anger she'd just endured, her gray matter dosed in enough adrenaline to power her through an army.  
As she rounded a corner, she found a few helmeted soldiers with armor bearing that same hourglass symbol from before.  
"What the hell is this?" One asked.  
"It's her!" said the other. "Look!"  
The first guy finally noticed it. Even Arame looked at where they were pointing.  
Her tail had finally pushed out of her now disheveled jumpsuit.  
"Why's the master keeping a saiyan on board?" The first guy asked frantically. "Aren't they extinct?"  
"I'd wager she's the one responsible for the hull breach," said the second. "Take her down!"  
"She's a saiyan!"  
"Doesn't matter!"  
Arame yelled again, and dashed forward with such speed that she seemed to be invisible. A few quick strikes, and both soldiers were broken and on the floor.  
It wouldn't be long before the entire ship was locked down, and Arame needed to get out of here. There would be escape pods somewhere along this way, she knew.  
"Attention, all crew! The saiyan subject has escaped! Do not attempt to apprehend. Kill on sight, I repeat: kill her on sight!"  
Arame blasted open a door on the left labeled C-1. There were three men on the other side, and beyond them were the escape pods she was looking for. She obliterated the men without a second thought, and with a single Ki wave.  
I don't know what the hell is going on here, but I need to get off this ship. A rational part of her brain was telling her that something was off, even though her saiyan blood was itching for a fight with that Chronos bastard. She had a feeling that that time would come soon though.  
She jumped into a pod and launched it off at the nearest planet.  
Meanwhile, Chronos watched as the pod went down to the planet's surface. The planet she was heading for had been the site of multiple fluctuations in space time over the course of its recent history.  
The destructive force contained within Arame would see to it that this stabilization was a resounding success.

 

One: A Rough Landing

When the pod crashed, the nearest one to it happened to be Piccolo. The shockwave startled him at first, but something like that usually meant trouble. Trouble had a way of finding Piccolo too, so he decided to meet it head on.  
The pod was spherical in shape, not unlike ones that he'd seen before, years ago. As he watched, the pod began to open. Before the door was open however, something burst out, roaring with ferocity. It was a teenage girl in a battered gray jumpsuit, her black hair had spikes facing forward and backward, and her voice was powerful enough to shake the stars.  
She took off at a blinding speed, heading for...something. He went after her at once.  
This doesn't look too bad, but I can sense a lot of power coming from this one. Need to bring her down quickly so I can find out what's going on.  
She was fast though, and he could only keep up. He'd never be able to catch her.  
Then, she landed on a rocky plateau and stared out at East City in the distance. It looked like she was struggling to stand. Piccolo landed behind her. Then he got a good look at something that he'd missed before. Protruding from her back was a long furry tail.  
A saiyan?! Piccolo was thunderstruck. There are more?  
The girl lowered her head and turned to face Piccolo. She had the eyes of a saiyan for sure, grim and menacing. There was no doubt about it. This was a pure-blooded warrior, young as she was. Yet she didn't take a battle stance, and Piccolo actually felt her energy level dropping.  
She took one step and collapsed.

Piccolo took the girl back to the lookout, where Dende promptly started his healing work. "I don't need to do much for her," he told Piccolo. "She's mostly just exhausted. Mentally and physically."  
"I called Goku and Vegeta here," Piccolo replied. "They need to see this."  
"Hey, Piccolo!"  
"Speak of the devil," Piccolo turned to see Goku waving at him. Vegeta had his arms folded and, as usual, was grim faced.  
"What's so important? You interrupted me at the worst possible time, Namekian."  
"You need to see this," Piccolo replied, pointing to the girl.  
Vegeta and Goku approached her.  
"Huh," said Goku. "It's a girl...anything special about that?"  
Piccolo lifted the sheet over her body, revealing the tail that was twitching ever so slightly.  
Goku and Vegeta both started in shock. "A Saiyan?!" Goku almost yelled.  
"She landed near me some time ago," Piccolo told them, "and her power levels were off the charts. She was wearing this strange jumpsuit with an odd hourglass symbol, and I assumed I'd have to subdue her, but she collapsed right in front of me before she could even make a move. I thought it best to bring you two here before she woke up, just in case."  
"Good call," Goku replied. "Wow...another saiyan. Is she from Universe 6?"  
"No, idiot," Vegeta spat, "the saiyans of Universe 6 don't have tails. She's a survivor of this universe." He looked her over. "I didn't think there were any of us left after Paragus and Broly."  
"Huh! She's waking up!" Dende said.  
The girl opened her eyes slowly. Then they went wide. "Dammit!" She sat up and gripped her left side. "Ow...must've hit harder than I thought." She looked up at everyone. "Who are you people? And where am I?"  
"You're on Earth," said Dende. "My friend Piccolo says you crash landed here a while ago. He brought you here to the lookout to recover."  
"What's this Earth? And why are Namekians here?" The girl asked.  
"Earth is the planet we're on now, and I'm the guardian," said Dende. "But why don't you tell us who you are?"  
She closed her eyes. "My name is Arame."  
"That's a proper Saiyan name alright," said Vegeta. "She's the real deal."  
Arame looked up at him. "You know about Sai--" Her eyes went wide. "Prince Vegeta!"  
"No formalities," Vegeta immediately told her. "That time has long since passed."  
Arame blinked. "Why is our prince on Earth?"  
"Because our home planet was destroyed."  
"Oh…so that did happen?"  
Goku scratched his head. "Wow...you must've really been out of it. Where've you been all this time?"  
"And who're you?" Arame asked Goku.  
"My name's Goku, I'm a Saiyan who was raised here on Earth," he told her with a grin.  
Arame blinked. "Goku? Doesn't sound very Saiyan."  
"Well, we're both Saiyans so you can call me Kakarot," replied the one called Goku with a firm smile.  
"Oh," said Arame, crossing her legs. "Can you...start from the beginning? I've been out of the loop for a long time."

Arame sat and listened through the explanation. They mostly covered the basic points, but Piccolo, Goku, Vegeta, and Dende filled her in on every event from the Saiyan attack on earth through the Tournament of Power some five years before.  
She was disturbed by the information she was being given. When they finished, the first thing she said was, "So...a lot has happened. Frieza was the one who brought us to near extinction? Not surprised." She looked to Goku. "And Kakarot defeated him on Namek right before it was destroyed. I didn't think that was even remotely possible. From the way Prince Vegeta speaks of you, you're supposed to be a warrior on the level of my late father, but..." She looked back at the prince. "You also tell me that Kakarot was the first Saiyan in millennia to become the legendary Super saiyan. And now there's not just one...but several?!"  
Goku laughed and rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah...it's kind of an inherited trait among saiyans now. We can do it, and our kids can too."  
"Indeed," said Vegeta. "Of all the saiyans still alive, you'd be the only one who isn't a Super saiyan."  
Arame's jaw dropped. "Huh?!" She shook her head. "That's outrageous...but there's one last thing I've been meaning to ask you. You didn't seem to mention it in your story." She peered around them. "Where are your tails? I was told that Saiyans without tails were considered worthless."  
Vegeta harrumphed. "That may have been the case long ago, but no longer. A Saiyan's worth is judged differently now. Kakarot lost his tail when he was younger. I lost mine when I attempted to invade Earth decades ago." He paused. "In addition to being the only non-Super Saiyan left, you're also the only saiyan left who still has a tail."  
Arame looked down at the floor. "Wow...it's like adjusting to a whole new way of life."  
"Well, we still do a lot of training," Goku said cheerily, "and we're always fighting something or another, so that hasn't really changed. We even pushed ourselves to the level of Super saiyan gods, Vegeta and me."  
Arame's mind snapped for a second, breaking from reality at what she'd just heard. "I-I'm sorry. Did...did you just say...Super saiyan...g-gods?"  
"Saiyan potential is limitless," said Vegeta. "We can access the power of god Ki with enough training and battle experience, or in Kakarot's case...through some farcical ritual. As far as I can tell, only pure-blooded saiyans have this power, but there's no way to be certain if our half-blooded children can or cannot attain this same level."  
"Yeah...and compared to us, your power is paltry," said Goku.  
"Oh, right...you can sense energy," Arame noted. She sprang up suddenly, her tail twitching. "Show me! I wanna get stronger! I want this power for myself! It might help me fight Chronos!"  
Goku and Vegeta watched her for a second. "Well, now it's your turn then. Why don't we start by having you tell us where you've been all this time, and who exactly this Chronos guy is?"  
Arame grimaced. "He's a Time Keeper. From what I was told, they were once a force of warriors tasked with policing the timelines, making sure nothing was out of sync, seen as how time travel was strictly forbidden. Their power is greater than that of even the gods, and it was that way so that even if a deity tried to meddle with time, the Time Keepers would punish them with destruction." She paused. "But they were all different beings, each with his or her own idea of how the timeline should be kept whole. They had a war amongst themselves, and in the end only Chronos was left. He had been sealed away by his fellow Time Keepers for some reason, but he returned to this universe some three years from now."  
Vegeta and Goku were listening intently. Arame was trying to recall all of this from memory. Or at least, she thought she was. She wasn't entirely sure.  
"When he returned, he found the timelines distorted...and the distortions all rippled outward from a single planet. Earth, I think. So he traveled through the ages, in search of a warrior of some kind. Or some relic maybe...I don't know. Along the way, he found me.  
"My mother had a bad intuition when Frieza summoned every Saiyan back to planet Vegeta. She was never a warrior...only manual labor because her power was so weak. She snuck me into a pod...I was about six years old at the time. She sent me off with coordinates to a habitable planet...but along the way I was captured by Chronos.  
"He kept me prisoner on his ship, in a little spherical cell, torturing me with musical tones that wired my brain, waves of radiation, trying to unlock some hidden power within me or something like that. I forget the details there. Those waves messed with my head and made me angrier than I'd ever been in my life.  
"It went on for years, I think...but I was probably jumping through timelines on his ship as he did his searching. It only stopped earlier...today? I broke out of his grasp and found my way to a ship...and I ended up here. Those waves took a lot out of me though. I thought your Namekian friend might have been one of his agents, but I had no energy left to fight." She flared her Ki. "But now I do! I'm going to find Chronos and tear his head off for what he did to me!"  
"Settle down!" yelled Vegeta. "Getting enraged now won't solve any problems. You need to focus that anger."  
Arame closed her eyes and focused her mind. "Alright..." She opened her eyes. "I get the feeling that Chronos won't sit still for too long though."  
"We need more information about this Time Keeper," Piccolo said. "And if he has power over even gods, then--"  
"Hey!" Goku cried cheerfully. "Today is Trunks's birthday, right Vegeta? I'm pretty sure Bulma invited Lord Beerus and Whis to eat. We can go ask them!"  
Vegeta smirked. "So, you can come up with good ideas from time to time. We should do this carefully though, considering Lord Beerus's temperament."  
"Right," Goku replied.  
Arame raised an eyebrow. "Uh...Lord Beerus?"  
"We'll fill you in later," said Vegeta.  
"See you later," Goku told her. He touched Vegeta's shoulder, put his two fingers to his head, and vanished.  
Arame started. "The heck...?"  
"Instant transmission," said Piccolo. "It's one of Goku's most useful skills. If he gets a lock on a location in his mind, he can travel there at the speed of light."  
"Wow," Arame sighed. "So, who is Lord Beerus...um...Piccolo?"  
Piccolo inclined his head. "Lord Beerus is this universe's God of Destruction, opposite the Supreme Kai. He's one of the most powerful beings in our universe."  
Arame blinked. "I'm just going to accept this stuff at this point. It's a lot to wrap my head around."  
"We've had years to get used to this," said Piccolo. "You're trying to take all of that in in just a few minutes. It can be mind boggling, to say the least."  
Dende stepped up next to her and handed her something small. "Here. I had Master Korin bring a senzu bean up here. Eat it."  
Arame stared at the small green pod for a second, then popped it in her mouth and swallowed it. Immediately, she perked up, her energy restored. "Wow! That's incredible."  
"You should be back at one hundred percent now," said Dende.  
Piccolo started in shock. "Agh! That power! There are multiple unfamiliar power sources on Earth now...and they're all heading for Capsule Corporation!"  
Dende looked out at the horizon, also shocked. "I sense them too. They're incredible."  
"Goku and the others might get surprised," said Piccolo. "It's like these power levels are fluctuating...I can't tell just how strong they are. This can't be good."  
Arame gritted her teeth. "It must be Chronos. He's sent his soldiers down to Earth...probably looking for the strongest power levels...or me."  
Dende closed his eyes. He opened them in horror a second later. "Guys, something bad is happening at Capsule Corporation! Everyone's...frozen!"  
Piccolo growled. He turned to Arame. "There's a lot of power out there, and I need help. You remember how to fight right?"  
Arame raised her fist and smirked. "My dad showed me a few tricks once or twice. I can hold my own."  
"Good answer," he told her. "Follow me." He took off in flight. Arame did the same thing. Their destination: Capsule Corporation. But time wasn't running out. It had completely stopped for everyone there.

 

Two: Who is the Time Keeper?

Bulma and the others could only watch as the soldiers floated above them. They were wearing a strange armor the likes of which she'd never seen before, and their skin was shiny for some reason. It was like they were made of metal, yet they still seemed organic.  
One of them, the one in front, was carrying a strange device in his hand.  
"Nullification field active," he said, his voice crisp and menacing. "You lot won't be going anywhere." He looked them over. "A smorgasbord of the strongest power levels on Earth. Even the legendary saiyan prince Vegeta and the Super saiyan Son Goku." He looked again. "And Lord Beerus!" The soldier laughed. "Oh, my master has long sought to take care of you for your impertinence!"  
"I...can't...move!" Bulma managed to say. Even talking was difficult.  
"Now then," said the chief soldier. "We should take this time to get a reading...the timeline fluctuations are strong here."  
The soldiers began taking positions around Capsule Corporation with strange instruments in their hands, apparently analyzing the time travel signatures left behind by Trunks when he'd come from the future.  
"This place is a hotbed of time activity," said one soldier.  
"It's inconceivable," said another.  
Suddenly, the chief soldier looked up. Something was coming.  
"Men! Battle ready!"

Arame and Piccolo arrived a moment later, floating high above Capsule Corporation with the soldiers. Arame saw a lot of people frozen in their tracks below, and she could feel them watching her with curiosity.  
These must be Vegeta and Kakarot's friends, she thought. Then she returned her attention to the soldiers with Piccolo.  
"And just who are you?" Piccolo demanded.  
"We are the loyal servants of Chronos, the Time Keeper," said the soldier in the fanciest armor. "And you are a Namekian. Why are you here on Earth?"  
"Sir!" Yelled one of the soldiers. "It's her! The escaped saiyan subject!"  
The chief looked at Arame. "Ah, yes...I see it now. She has those saiyan eyes...and the tail. You'll pay for defying my master."  
"I'll tear your master's guts out for what he did to me!" Arame yelled.  
"Such brutality," the chief said. "You simians aren't known for anything else though." He and his men took combat stances. "But if you and the Namekian think you have a chance, then go ahead."  
Piccolo braced himself for a fight. Arame charged her Ki. "You're dead!" She yelled. "I'll kill you ALL!" She blasted forward with incredible speed, and her fist literally took the head off of one of the nearest soldiers.  
"Dammit!" Piccolo called, "we needed a strategy!"  
Three soldiers attacked Arame at once. None of their strikes got through her guard, but she sent two of them flying to the ground at Mach ten. The third she blasted a hole through.  
One soldier came up behind and grabbed her tail with one hand, pulled her back, and sent his other hand into the back of her head. When he’d grabbed her tail, she felt her energy leave, which rendered her unable to fight back. But his grip slackened a bit right after he hit her head.  
Arame used the momentum to roll under him, come up on the other side, and grab his arm with her left hand. She then used her right hand to completely sever his arm from his body. Then she grabbed his leg and his other arm and smiled maliciously.  
With a roar, she tore those other two limbs from his body with a shower of blood. He fell to the ground far below with only one leg still attached.  
Piccolo was tearing through the soldiers with abandon as well, but the chief was giving him a bit of trouble. His power was on a different level entirely.  
Arame rushed him from behind, but he caught her with a kick to the gut.  
"You're fighting a losing battle, saiyan," he said. "This Namekian has more power than you, and even he's having difficulty against my power. What hope do you have?"  
Arame charged again, and fired a wave of her ki energy at the foe. He was forced to dodge, which made him and easy target for Piccolo, who hammered him a few times. But the soldier made a recovery rather quickly, kicking Piccolo across the head as he twirled.  
When he did this, Arame saw something fall from his armor. It looked like a strange remote of some kind. She dove and grabbed it before the enemy could react to its disappearance, but as she held it up his eyes widened in shock.  
"So..." he said. "The battle is decided by luck. Pity."  
Arame smirked and crushed the device in her hand. Vegeta was up there first, and promptly grabbed the chief by his throat. "You know what I can't stand? Cowards who refuse to fight without the help of some battle altering devices or powers." He crushed the alien's throat, threw him in the air, and destroyed him with a massive burst of energy from his right hand. "Idiot creature."  
"Nice!" Arame whooped.  
Vegeta looked at her, and then returned to ground level. Piccolo did the same, motioning for Arame to follow him. Goku was the one who spoke up for her.  
"Everyone," he said, "this is Arame! She's a pure blooded saiyan who just arrived on earth...but she's friendly."  
There was a moment of stunned silence, and then the crowd was a buzz of activity.

Before any pleasantries could be exchanged, Arame was introduced to Lord Beerus and his attendant Whis by Goku and Vegeta. After the niceties were observed, Beerus said, "Just what have you saiyans gotten us into this time?"  
Arame flushed with embarrassment.  
"My Lord," said Whis, "it's hardly their fault at all. Chronos would have been drawn here regardless, saiyans or no saiyans."  
Beerus scratched his head. "Well I'd imagine it would still have some connection to all the time travel Bulma had Trunks doing in the future. In any case, it's still a very serious problem. We're all at risk so long as that mechanically minded buffoon Chronos is hovering over Earth."  
"What's his deal anyway?" asked Goku.  
"He's a Time Keeper," said Beerus, "Their kind was tasked with keeping the timelines in order, preventing anyone from meddling with them, should anyone find a way to break the rules, as Bulma did."  
"It was a matter of saving the world!" argued Bulma.  
"We've already discussed this!" Beerus retorted angrily. He calmed a bit as he continued. "Now, I'm curious as to why he had this particular saiyan in his custody." He got really close to Arame. "She doesn't look all that remarkable, and her power is more on the level of Goten's than Goku or Vegeta."  
"She does still have her tail, Lord Beerus," Whis noted.  
"Ah, yes," Beerus remarked. "So she does."  
A few of the people gathered around them gasped. "How did we miss that?" gasped Bulma.  
"That's a serious problem," replied another, an individual with three eyes, whose name would later be revealed to Arame as Tien Shinhan.  
"Correct assumption," said Beerus to Tien. "Someone grab a big knife and hold her down."  
Arame got visibly scared. "Uh...wait! That's not--!"  
"It's better than the alternative," Bulma said. "Goku, grab her!"  
"Ahh!" Arame tried to run, but Lord Beerus grabbed her tail. Arame felt weak, her power instantly drained. "Maybe this will work faster for you?" His power flashed, blinding everyone there. When the light finally faded, Arame was on the ground, skin smoldering, face contorted with pain, but her tail was still there.  
"Oww..." She groaned. "...is...is it over?"  
"Odd," Beerus observed. "I could have sworn it was divine power I just used. Well, better try again with more power this time."  
Arame snapped to attention at that, but she was still lying in the dirt. "I'm in a lot of pain after that!"  
"Uh, wait, Lord Beerus?" Goku said, "maybe we should hold off on the tail removal until we better understand what's going on with her in general?"  
Lord Beerus looked at him blankly. "You really want to take that risk after you, your son, and Vegeta all went on rampages in great ape form? You really are the densest person in the universe."  
Goku laughed nervously. "I get that a lot, you know."  
Arame stood. As she did, parts of her jumpsuit started to disintegrate, revealing a great deal of unnecessary skin. "Um...could I get some new clothes before this gets awkward?" She asked, blushing a little. "Or is that too forward?"

Piccolo fashioned Arame a gi very similar in color and design to his, sans the cape and turban. The sleeveless design suited Arame much better, and the only alteration she had to make was tearing a small slit for her tail in the back.  
"Hey, everyone," Bulma then called out, "there's still a party going on, and an intrusion like this isn't going to stop us from enjoying it, got it? Why don't we keep eating and discuss this ordeal at the same time?"  
"You earthlings know just how to keep things pleasant," Beerus said happily. "Why sacrifice good food just because your planet's being threatened?"  
"We're used to it," Bulma replied.  
Arame ended up at a table with Trunks, Goten, Bulma, Gohan, Videl, and their daughter Pan. Gohan was watching her through his glasses with scrutiny. "It's been a long time since I've seen a new Saiyan."  
"Are you a Saiyan too?" Arame asked.  
"I'm half-saiyan," Gohan replied. "My name is Gohan. The boy beside you is my brother, Goten. He and Trunks are both half-saiyans, and my daughter is quarter-saiyan."  
Arame blinked. "And...you're all Super Saiyans?"  
"Want us to show you?" Trunks asked.  
"Not here you're not," Bulma warned him. "That puts out a lot of energy and you'll blow half the party away. And we do not need Lord Beerus getting upset because you decided to show off."  
"So...what's the deal with the tail...um, Arame?" Goten asked her.  
She looked at him. "Oh...a Saiyan's tail is our...or it was a symbol of status and power. It allows us to transform under lunar radiation."  
"Like a Super saiyan level?"  
"No, Goten," said Gohan. "Saiyans with a tail who gaze at the moon are turned into great apes. Their power is ten times the base of a normal saiyan."  
"Wow!" Goten exclaimed. "Didn't you have one, Gohan?"  
"Well, yeah, but Vegeta cut it off," said Gohan. "It's been so long ago though."  
Arame sighed. "Only one saiyan alive still has a tail. I guess that means mine is next to go."  
"Don't worry," said Bulma. "We'll knock you out before we cut it off."  
"We didn't with Vegeta," Gohan noted. "Yajirobe just took it off with his sword."  
"Last time he was useful, for that matter," Bulma muttered.  
Arame looked down at the food that had been placed in front of her. She'd never seen food like it before in her life. It was steamed...something called 'sashimi', and the fruits looked succulent and colorful. She took a piece of the fish and popped it in her mouth. The explosion of flavor had her taste buds practically dancing.  
"Mmmm!" She moaned in pleasure. "It's like a rainbow of spices in my mouth!" She scarfed everything down as fast as she could shove it in her gullet.  
Bulma plopped her head in her right hand and said, with a lazy 'really?' expression stamped on her face, "Oh boy...another Goku."  
Arame stopped eating for a moment and asked, "Hey, where'd Lord Vegeta go?"  
"'Lord'?" Bulma retorted. "The only thing he's 'lord' of is never being around. Like right now!"  
Arame blinked. "Back on Planet Vegeta, he and his father, the king, were known for ruthlessness and their unyielding ferocity. I got kinda nervous when I saw him here."  
"You're not a normal saiyan, huh?" Gohan said. "Most that we've met, like Raditz and Nappa, were brutal and battle hungry...loved killing people. I don't get that from you, though."  
"My father was like that," Arame replied. "So was my brother. They were both on planet when Vegeta was destroyed. My mother was a bit different. She had a very low power level, so her status wasn't great. We were ridiculed a lot, and the other saiyan kids had a habit of picking fights with me. I got tougher than mom did...even got to the point where I could match my brother, but mom never wanted me to be a fighter." She exhaled. "In the time she spent sneaking me into a pod, she could have tried to find my dad, or my brother, and help them out.  
"The last thing she said to me was 'you have more warrior spirit than any saiyan on this rock, because you know when to fight, not just how to fight.'" Arame grimaced. "I spent all that time stuck in a time loop with that Chronos bastard after that. I do know when to fight, and that's now!"  
"Well, we can't do anything yet," Bulma told her. "We have to take this one step at a time. First thing we need to do is figure out why your tail can't come off."  
"I can't take time for that!" Arame retorted. "I need to train my body and my mind more! I need to find out how to be a better warrior so I can take down Chronos! The timelines depend on it!"  
"Well said," said the voice of Prince Vegeta, who had just arrived from across the lawn. "I just had a chat with Whis and Lord Beerus. They're convinced that Arame is connected to the Time Keeper somehow, and they want all of us to train her." He looked at her sharply. "We pulled lots to see who would get first dibs." Then he looked at Gohan. "Congratulations, son of Kakarot. You're her first teacher. You get three days. Then it'll be Kakarot's turn. After his three days..." He looked back at Arame, "you're mine."  
Gohan started. "I'm...first?"  
Arame pumped her fists at her side, as if she were building energy. "I'm ready, Gohan! Give me everything you've got!"  
Videl looked at Gohan, amused. "Looks like you've got your work cut out for you. the half-saiyan trains the pure saiyan."  
Gohan swallowed. "Oh man..."

 

-End of Part One-


	2. Part Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arame begins to come into her own, her power growing. Yet the darkness still looms, and Chronos begins to twist the past, but to what end?

Three: Give me all you've got, Gohan!  
A day later, Arame and Gohan met in a barren rocky field several miles outside of West City where they wouldn't be disturbed. It was actually the same field upon which the Cell Games arena had once stood, where Gohan had saved the world from the creature of the same name.  
Gohan and Arame stood facing each other at a distance of thirty yards. Arame was bouncing on the balls of her feet, eager to get started. Meanwhile, Gohan was busy thinking about how exactly he was going to train this fiery teenager.  
"So what are we working on first?" Arame asked him.  
Gohan folded his arms and sighed. "I'm sensing a lot of power from you already. It keeps fluctuating though...as if your energy levels aren't really stable."  
Arame raised an eyebrow and her tail twitched curiously. "You can sense energy?"  
Gohan's eyes widened. "Oh...right. It's not inherent." He laughed nervously. "Forgot about that." He gave her a determined look. "Alright then, I know exactly what we're doing first. We're going to teach you how to sense power levels."  
"Awesome!" Arame replied. "Might as well start with some basics."  
"Good attitude," Gohan said. "Here's what I want you to do..."  
Gohan ended up blindfolding Arame. He explained that he was going to attack her at full speed, so she wouldn't be able to hear his movements. She was going to have to reach out with her whole being in order to try and sense his approach and his attack. If she mastered the technique, she would be able to 'see' him in her mind's eye, as though the blindfold weren't there.  
"Ready!" She said, taking a battle stance.  
"Alright, here we go!"  
Arame tried to reach out with her senses, or perhaps her feelings. She focused on expanding her awareness, and she began to feel rhythmic vibrations in the air.   
Those vibrations picked up for a millisecond before she was sent sprawling from Gohan's strike.   
Arame stood up quickly. "I felt some kind of vibrations."  
"That's only scratching the surface," Gohan replied. "The faster the vibrations and the more intense they feel, the more power someone is giving off. Ki energy is emitted like a beacon from every person naturally. They can actively conceal their power by dampening those internal vibrations and lowering their thought processes, like meditation."  
Gohan charged his Ki.  
Arame felt the vibrations even stronger now, and she could feel the rippling energy rushing across her.  
Then the vibrations moved again. She felt their general direction. And she felt them approaching her. Arame jumped out of the way, narrowly dodging Gohan's attack.  
"You're getting better," he said. "But I want you to go from dodging to deflecting. Then I want you to fight me. All while wearing that blindfold."  
Arame braced herself again. This was good training. It was honing her mind more than anything, and it would help her keep her thoughts still in combat. Of course, like all Saiyans, she felt the most calm and comfortable in the heat of a fight.  
They ran through a few more drills, and for at least an hour Gohan was diving at her. Arame was dodging some strikes, and getting hit by others. But every time she was becoming more and more aware of Gohan's form as the vibrations began to take shape.  
At last, Gohan launched a diving kick that Arame managed to deflect with her arm. She also blocked Gohan's follow up elbow strike and knocked him away.   
Arame could see Gohan now by the vibrations he was giving off. She focused her body toward him and took her combat stance. "I can see you."  
"That means you're sensing me," Gohan said. "Now let's really get into this." He dove at her, and they clashed.  
Gohan jabbed and kicked at Arame, but she managed to deflect all of his early strikes. She retaliated with a few of her own but it was the same story with different characters.  
They went back and forth like this for a while, neither of them giving any ground.  
When Gohan fired a few Ki blasts at Arame, she saw them as balls of pure pulsating waves. As they got close, she knocked them aside. Then she fired back a few of her own in a rapid fire dose.  
She and Gohan kept at this routine for a few hours, with Gohan teaching her new techniques like concealing her own energy signature. By the time Arame took off the blindfold, the sun was setting over the horizon.  
"It's getting pretty late," said Gohan. "You should probably head back with me for the time being. We've got plenty of room, and you're gonna be stuck with me for another two days, so..."

"I could probably go for another few dishes, but I think that'd be rude," Arame sighed as she sat back in the dining chair.  
Videl laughed as Gohan stared in bewilderment at the nine empty bowls in front of Arame that had each been loaded with enough ramen to fill a normal person.  
"You eat like my dad does," Gohan said.   
Pan was watching Arame from across the table with amazement.  
"A saiyan's stomach is powerful enough to digest pure metal in a minute," said Arame. "Or so I was told by my mother and brother. We get hungrier than usual if we burn through more energy, and I used a lot today."  
"No kidding," said Gohan.  
Pan vanished under the table.  
"So...how old are you exactly?" Videl asked Arame. "You don't look much older than Gohan's brother Goten."  
"I'm probably around fifteen," replied Arame. "Give or take a bit."  
"Yeah, she's about Goten's age," said Gohan.   
Arame was about to keep the conversation going when something grabbed her tail. Her eyes went wide, and then she went a bit limp, her energy suddenly drained.  
"What's up?" Videl asked, noticing her sudden change.  
"Tail...little fingers..."  
"Pan!"  
The hand released Arame's tail at once and her power flooded back. She looked down and saw a bright little face staring up at her.  
"Your tail's soft and warm," Pan said.  
Arame smiled and brought her tail around to tickle Pan, who laughed. "It's good for a lot of things, but it comes with a bit of a price."  
Pan got a bit closer. Then she crinkled her nose a bit and said, "You smell kinda funny."  
Arame flushed. "Uh..."  
"You probably smell funny too, Pan," said Videl. "Isn't it time for your bath?"  
"I'll take one with Arame," Pan replied, pulling Arame out of her chair with surprising strength, confirming that saiyan blood of hers.  
"Guess I'm committed then," Arame managed to say.   
Gohan and Videl couldn't help but laugh in reply as the two girls vanished.

"Hey, Goten," Trunks said, "Arame's pretty hot, isn't she?"  
"What?" Goten replied.  
They had been doing some evening sparring in Capsule Corporation's private plaza, where Trunks's party had been held, for about an hour.  
"C'mon," Trunks went on. "You know you wanna get to know her. Plus, she's a saiyan, so you have at least one thing in common."  
"We both fight?"  
"That's solid ground for starting a conversation, Goten," said Trunks. "You should try it. You could do with a girlfriend, you know?"  
Goten scratched his head. "Huh...never thought about that."  
"Geez, you're hopeless," Trunks replied. "Look, I'll try and help you out alright? First up, you should see if your brother could use your help training her."  
"Yeah," said Goten. "I'll do that."

Unable to sleep peacefully, Arame decided to do a quick one thousand pushups next to the bed Gohan and Videl had given her during her time with them. One thousand was paltry compared to what her father had had her doing when she was four, but it was good for a base line and might help hypnotize her into sleep.  
Even still, her mind kept drifting back to Chronos. The Time Keeper was dead set on setting the timeline right, which meant destroying the earth, in a nutshell. Because according to him, it was supposed to have been destroyed originally when her fellow saiyans attacked.  
She'd been filled in on the details by Gohan earlier.   
A saiyan named Raditz had arrived on earth, looking for his brother, who was Kakarot (who the earthlings called Son Goku). In an attempt to force Kakarot to join him, he'd kidnapped his nephew Gohan and held him captive.  
Kakarot had to work with Piccolo, an old enemy of his, to rescue him, but in the process, Kakarot had been killed. A year after this, Prince Vegeta and his aide Nappa arrived on earth and challenged the earthlings.   
Earth's fighters were all but decimated, with only Krillin and Gohan surviving the fight. Kakarot had to jump in and save the day again, but this time with new techniques like the Kaioken and the Spirit Bomb.  
Then came the bit about Namek that she'd been told about the day before by Kakarot and Vegeta, on top of everything that came afterward. It was no surprise that these saiyans and their hybrid offspring were so powerful.  
Arame looked up at the stars through the window. Somewhere out there in the void of space, the remains of her home planet drifted. She wondered where the souls of her race had gone to. Was there some otherworld for them as well? Maybe an afterlife of feasting and fighting?   
She shook the thoughts from her head and tried to get some sleep. She still had another two days under Gohan's tutelage, and she needed her rest in order to make the most of it.

Four: Chronos Strikes! The Return of Raditz!

The second day of training, Gohan had Arame work on focusing her Ki energy in order to sharpen it and raise it to new heights. Several hours of concentrated practice with intermittent bouts of sparring had her power level steadily rising.  
She was catching on quickly, but Gohan wasn't as good a teacher as Piccolo. He would have been able to give Arame a true lesson in Ki focusing and mental toughness.  
They were both surprised when, at about two in the afternoon and four hours into the training, Goten showed up.  
"Hey, Goten," Gohan said. "What's up?"  
"Um...I was just coming by to see if you needed any help with training Arame," replied Goten.  
"You can probably help her out," Gohan said. "You're closer to her level than me, so you can be a good matchup for her."  
Arame noticed that Goten was watching her with a unique interest. She couldn't really tell what it was about though. Most of the time someone her age had looked at her like that in the past, it was because they wanted to fight. Arame had been an easy target in her youth too.  
As they were conversing, Arame felt something approaching them from an extreme distance. It felt like a power level of immense proportions and it was closing distance fast.  
"Do you feel that?" Goten suddenly said.  
"Yeah," Gohan replied. "Not sure what it is. It feels familiar, but I can't quite place it."  
Whatever it was arrived and struck the rocky ground a few meters from where they stood.  
Arame recognized the armor style, and saw the tail wrapped around his waist immediately. his spiky black hair fell to his calves, and he looked as menacing as any other denizen of planet Vegeta.  
"A saiyan warrior?" Arame gasped.  
"Raditz," Gohan growled.   
Raditz grimaced. "It's been a long time, nephew. You've certainly grown up."  
"How are you here?" demanded Gohan. "You're supposed to be dead."  
"Funny story that," replied Raditz. "A most curious fellow by the name of Chronos brought me here. Said he reforged my spirit through time manipulation...not clear on the details. But he told me the only string attached was that I had to finish what I started and destroy this pitiful planet!"  
Gohan and Goten took battle stances. Arame followed suit.  
"We're stronger than we were last time, Raditz!" Gohan yelled. "This won't go the way you think!"  
Raditz smiled darkly. "Why don't you test that theory?"  
Goten jumped at Raditz. Only for Raditz to easily deflect his strikes and send him sprawling some distance away, smashing into a rock. Raditz's Ki flared suddenly and his eyes glowed menacingly.  
"I didn't come all this way without a surprise," said Raditz.  
Arame jumped forward to stand next to Gohan. "I call dibs, Gohan!"  
Raditz looked her over, confused. "Another saiyan? Just who are you exactly?"  
"I'm Arame, daughter of Mizuma and Celeron," Arame replied, taking her combat stance.  
"Celeron was the name of a warrior I met once," Raditz mused aloud. "He mentioned a powerful son, but nothing of any daughter. You must've had a pitiful power level."  
Arame growled. "Pitiful? You sound just like my brother, lording his position in the army over me and my mother! The other kids always picking fights with me without provocation..." She flared her Ki. "I've had it with that old society! And you're just a reminder of the brutality and the indecency of the old saiyans!"  
"Then come!" yelled Raditz, readying himself to fight. "Face your past, if you dare!"  
Arame rushed at Raditz, and the two met with a furious exchange of blows. She kept up fairly well with his attacks and dished out plenty of her own, but at first they were only evenly matched.  
Raditz leaped back and fired off two waves of dark Ki energy from his hands, both aimed right at Arame (his 'Double Sunday'). She narrowly dodged the blasts and fired a wave of her own energy. Raditz vanished, only to reappear next to her and slam his foot directly into the side of her head.  
She flew backward, but righted herself quickly.  
"Challenging someone above your station is a poor decision, runt," scoffed Raditz. "You don't have a chance of victory."  
Arame focused her inner spirit and put all of her power into her movements. Her speed increased dramatically as she closed the distance between herself and Raditz, appearing for brief milliseconds as she moved only to vanish a nanosecond later.  
She met Raditz with a furious kick that sent him flying into the air, and she followed up with another Ki wave. This one connected with Raditz, hitting him full force. He righted himself and released and explosion of his own Ki energy right at Arame in reply.  
Arame wasn't ready for the retaliation, and threw up her arms in a guard stance. The blast hit her and sent her flying away. This time when she came back to meet Raditz, he moved quick enough to grab her tail.  
She went limp, drained again, and Raditz threw her to the ground. He followed up by blasting her once more.   
This time, Arame didn't get up as quickly.  
"I'll admit," Raditz said. "You're creative, and you have fire. Unfortunately it wasn't enough. A pathetic thing like you is no match for a pure warrior of our race."  
"If a normal saiyan isn't enough," Gohan interjected, jumping in front of Arame as she crawled backward a few feet, "then how about a super saiyan?"  
Raditz laughed. "You really think a legend is supposed to intimidate me? You're more foolish than I thought."  
"So Chronos didn't tell you everything?" Gohan said. "I assume you're just here to test the waters then."  
With that, Gohan focused his energy. He began charging his Ki, his roar echoing off the columns of rock and throughout the valley. Stones near his feet began to levitate, and his body began sparking with a strange electrical energy.  
Arame watched with reverence, and horror, as a legend came to life right before her eyes. In an explosion of spirit energy, the vibrations in the air reached a fever pitch, and flames seemed to dance about the space around them as sparks crackled across Gohan's body and lanced into the ground.  
His Ki was affecting the atmosphere around them, and the force he was putting out was unreal.  
With a mighty yell, that Ki burst forth in a radiant flame. Gohan's hair turned to gold and his body increased in size by a small but noticeable margin. The sound and the feel of the Ki waves that washed over them became embedded in Arame's mind as she stared, wide eyed and enraptured at the spectacle she was now witness to.  
"This is...a super saiyan?" She managed to say. No one was listening though.  
Even Raditz was frozen in his place.  
Gohan looked back at Arame, his eyes now a glimmering blue and shining with yet more light from his inner spirit.  
"You did good, Arame," he said. "Now let me show you just how far you can go." He rushed at Raditz.  
Arame watched in shock as he made easy work of the saiyan warrior, who was too dumbfounded to even attempt to respond at first. But he couldn't keep up with Gohan's speed, and Raditz was made into a toy as he went flying around the battlefield.  
It took around twenty seconds, and it ended when Gohan yelled, "MASENKO!" and fired a blast of pure Ki directly at Raditz, full power. The explosion of energy was deafening, and there was nothing left when it was finished except for Raditz's smoldering corpse.  
Gohan let the super saiyan glow leave him, returning to his normal black hair and black eyed look. The base saiyan look.  
"That was awesome, Gohan!" yelled Goten from across the way. "You're really something else!"  
Arame was still frozen in fear as Gohan looked to her again.   
"You okay?" he asked her.  
She shook her head. "No...what the hell was that?!"  
Gohan laughed nervously again. "Uh, well...that was a super saiyan. It gives us a huge power multiplier when we tap into that power. That was the first level of the super saiyan as well. I didn't really see a need to go super saiyan two."  
Arame shook her head. "So that wasn't just something they were making up..." She looked back up at Gohan. "Right then! I have to find that kind of inner strength." She perked back up and jumped to her feet. "I have to keep training."  
Gohan looked back at Raditz. "I think that my uncle was only the beginning. It was too easy. We'd better make sure we're ready for when things really get serious."  
"Then let's get to it!" Arame yelled.  
"Right," Gohan replied.  
"Count me in!" Goten pitched in.  
"Two on one, Goten!" ordered Gohan.  
Arame raised her hands as they rushed her. Though the interference from Raditz wasn't forgotten, it was only the equivalent of a minor nuisance.  
As Gohan had surmised, it was merely the Time Keeper testing the waters.  
From a distance, Chronos observed the aftermath. Hm, he thought. Raditz lasted a little longer than I thought he would. He did his job though, and provoked Arame into focusing on her training. Next time I'll give them a real challenge...  
And Chronos knew just who he would bring into the battle next.

-End of Part Two-


	3. Part Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arame's training with Gohan is at and end. Now it's Goku's turn. Can Arame gain the power she needs? Time is running out. Or is it?

Five: A Tough Regimen! Training With Goku Begins!

"Let's see..." Arame checked the mapping device Bulma had given her for the fifteenth time in an hour. According to what she'd been told, Kakarot lived somewhere in the East District, far away from West City. But even this high above the earth, Arame couldn't tell which of the houses was his. They all looked the same.  
"Dammit," she muttered. "I bet I gotta ask for directions from the locals." Arame landed just outside a small village, out of sight of any people.   
The people she did meet in the town were mostly hospitable, but more than a few of them asked about her tail. Arame attempted to deflect the conversation back to finding Kakarot's house.   
"I don't know of any Kakarot," said one woman. "What's he look like?"  
"He has black spiky hair," said Arame, "a lot of muscle too, and a really tough look about him." She mused inwardly that she'd just described every saiyan male ever. It almost made her chuckle.  
The woman thought for a second. "Oh! You mean Goku? He and his family live out to the south...about two miles from here." She told her that their house was relatively isolated, so she shouldn't have much of a problem finding it. Arame thanked her, shouldered her bag of clothes that Gohan and Videl had helped her acquire, and set off for the woods.  
Once out of sight, she was off like a jet.  
A few minutes of flight southward, and she found a little cottage next to a large patch of farmland that matched the description she'd been given. She could see a woman hanging clothes out on a line.  
"I think that's it," she said to herself as she landed about thirty meters away from the house. Arame walked up to the domicile slowly, noting its quaint and cozy look and feel. This was the kind of house she could see being her home in the future.  
Arame had already decided that after Chronos was dealt with, she'd be sticking around on Earth. Not like she could go anywhere else, after all. Plus, the last of the saiyans had already settled here, so she might as well join them.   
As she got near the house, the woman she'd seen walked around from the side, carrying a now empty basket, and was about to walk back inside when she saw Arame approaching.  
"Oh, great! Another one!" The woman practically yelled, her tone sarcastic and agitated.  
Arame stopped and blinked a few times. The woman walked up to her, hands on her hips, and glared at her. Is this...Kakarot's mate?   
"Uh...hi," Arame said nervously. "I'm here for--"  
"I know what you're here for!" the woman interjected. "Well you can just turn around and fly off back wherever you came from!"  
"Well, my time with Gohan's up, soooo..."  
"Gohan?" the woman asked, softening a bit. Then she got harsh again. "What about Gohan?! Have you been keeping him from his job? You saiyans are all alike! All you care about is training and fighting! Well, I don't care what's threatening this planet or this galaxy or this universe...Goku is going nowhere!"  
Arame's back was bent backward a bit as the woman was leaning into her, glaring daggers into her soul. She stood there like that for a moment, until a familiar voice called out, "Mom! Dad's back!"  
They both turned to see Goten waving from near the house as an exhausted looking Kakarot came walking up the lawn toward the house.  
"Goku!" yelled his wife, making Arame's ears ring with the volume. She stormed off.  
Arame dug her little finger in her right ear. "Mom, is that you?" She murmured to herself. This woman was giving her some serious flashbacks.  
"This was your idea, wasn't it?!" The woman yelled as she got near Kakarot. "Some excuse to go running off to fight again? You have responsibilities!"  
Kakarot laughed nervously. Then he looked up and waved at Arame. "Hey, Arame! How'd training with Gohan go?"  
"So she WAS keeping Gohan from his work!"   
"Chi-chi, lighten up," Kakarot begged his mate, or wife, as Arame had heard them called by some others. "She's just here for training. We're not going off to fight anything."  
Chi-chi glared at him. "For how long?"  
"Three days," Kakarot replied. "Then she's going to Vegeta."  
There was a pregnant pause. Then Chi-chi said, "Fine. But while she's here, she can help you with the harvesting."  
"Actually, that sounds like great training," Kakarot replied. "She can give Goten a break."

* * * * *

"Four thousand...eight-hundred...sixty-one," Arame grunted as she pushed up. "Four thousand eight-hundred...sixty...two! Four thousand...eight-hundred sixty...three...!"  
Three hours into her training with Kakarot and Arame was working on hand stand pushups with Goten, but he was lagging behind by about thirty.  
"What's up, Goten?" She grunted, straining her words, sweat pouring from her body. "Gettin' tired?"  
"Just hit my stride!" He growled back.  
"Alright," Kakarot said from somewhere nearby. "I think that'll suffice for a warm up. Goten, glad to see you're sticking around for this."  
Goten and Arame fell over.  
"Well, I helped her train with Gohan," Goten replied. "I figured I'd keep a good thing going."  
"That's perfect," said Kakarot, "because you'll make for a better sparring partner for Arame than I would. You're closer to her level. No special powering for this match. Just a basic fight."  
Goten blinked in surprise. "Uh...okay."   
Arame readied herself for combat and rushed at Goten, who was only just able to guard against her strike.  
"Hope you're ready," she hissed with a smirk.  
The two of them went back and forth, with Kakarot observing the whole time, eyeing each combatant's technique with scrutiny. Goten and Arame were fairly evenly matched at first, but Goten started getting the upper hand when he began putting his full force into his strikes and focusing his speed.  
"Not bad, Goten," said Arame. "You're stronger than my older brother was at his peak. I can feel it." They stood apart for a bit sizing each other up while pondering their next moves. "I think you'd be a good sparring partner any day."  
Goten charged her again, this time catching her off guard with a sudden vanish, only to appear behind her and send her flying off into some bushes nearby with a powerful kick.  
Three seconds later, she rushed out and met Goten full force with her arm, but he managed to catch her strike.   
Then he noticed something while she was this close to him. The bushes had torn her gi and left a good bit of skin exposed, especially around her chest.   
This momentary distraction was noticed by Arame, who promptly slammed him in the gut, swept his feet out from under him, and pinned him to the ground.  
"The end," she said, in a haughty tone that channeled Vegeta.  
"That was pretty good," Kakarot said. "You got distracted there at the end, Goten. What were you staring at?"  
Arame looked down at Goten. "Yeah, Goten...what were you staring at?"  
Goten was looking at her chest again, but he caught himself and turned his eyes away. "Oh...uh..." He blushed.  
"No, seriously," Arame went on, perplexed. "And why are you looking flushed? Feeling sick?"  
"No, it's..." Goten looked her in the eye this time. "It's nothing. I don't want to talk about it."  
"Not bad, Arame," said Kakarot. "Now I want to see how you do in a no holds barred fight."   
Goten shook his head to clear it. "Wow..."  
"Goten! This time, powering is allowed," explained Kakarot. "Treat this fight like you would one with a real enemy. Both of you do everything you have to to win."  
"Right!" Arame yelled, powering her Ki.  
"I'm going all out!" Goten replied, doing the same.  
This time when they hit each other, it was audible from a good distance away. Arame and Goten were a flurry of motion as they struck at each other's defenses, but neither was giving any ground. Goten seemed more determined than ever to fight to his fullest potential.  
Arame deflected one of Goten's punches and used her tail to grab his other arm, allowing her to slam him in the side. He redirected his body rather quickly and used the momentum of her strike to swing around and kick her across the face, following up by grabbing her tail.  
Arame weakened.  
"That works," Goten said.  
Arame turned and hurled sand in Goten's face, which blinded him. When he let her tail go, she hammered him with a flurry of kicks, sending him sliding away. Yet he managed to stay on his feet after he caught himself, using his hand to help stop his slide.  
"Tenacious," he said.  
"Could say the same to you," Arame replied.  
Goten chuckled. "In that case, let's kick this up a notch." He gathered his Ki, and just like with Gohan, the atmosphere changed.   
Suddenly, Goten's body was sparking, and then the flare of golden flame enveloped him as he cranked himself up to Super Saiyan level.  
Arame was put off by the energy he was exerting now. She kept her battle stance, but her control wavered a bit. It was her first time fighting the legend itself, and she saw what Gohan had done to Raditz.  
"Think on your feet, Arame," Kakarot interjected. "Your opponent won't always be on your level, or weaker than you."  
Arame gritted her teeth. "Alright, Goten! Bring it!"  
He vanished, only to reappear in front of her. His fist came flying so fast, she barely caught it, and her arm shook just trying to keep it controlled.  
It became a struggle as she caught his other hand.  
She grimaced. "Dammit! This is unreal!"  
There was another flurry of movement from Goten as he started forcing Arame back, inch by inch, hammering her defenses. He easily dodged or deflected her strikes.  
Arame growled. Nothing's working against this power. What distracted him before? I remember he was looking at my chest...but why?  
She pulled her shirt open a little more, mostly feeling for anything that might have been eye catching, but she never took her eyes off of her opponent.  
Goten wavered for a second. "Uhh..."  
"Are you looking at my shirt or something?" She asked.  
Then she realized his guard was down. "Aha!" She rushed him and landed a punishing series of punches and kicks on him, yet he was only barely damaged by the attacks. It did wake him up though, and he raised his hand, firing a strong Ki blast that took Arame out of the fight for good. She was out of energy.

Deep in the recesses of Sol's system, closer to Mars than Earth, Chronos pondered Arame's next test. At this time, she's training with the saiyan Goku. Her power will be increasing, but I still need to test her abilities with new challenges. After all, she is the key to righting the timelines. The brutality of saiyans is inborn after all, and she can't run from her nature and her heritage.  
He reached deep into the recesses of time with his mind, searching for powerful warriors to bring under his sway. Chronos found two, both who perished in service to another, decades before on a distant planet.  
They're perfect, he thought. And they'll be easily swayed.  
Chronos stepped through his newly created dimensional portal to the nameless realm to which they'd been banished upon death.

Arame relaxed into the bath she'd drawn for herself, a good distance away from Kakarot's home so as not to disturb any of them during their nightly routines. After all, she was here for training, and she intended to train herself as thoroughly as she could during this stay.  
Chi-chi had made quite a meal earlier, and Arame and Kakarot had eaten plenty, but Arame tried to hold back. It was a guest thing, overindulging on hospitality and whatnot. As a result, Arame was still a little hungry.  
She mused on Chronos and what his next move was likely to be. It was probable that he was going to try and bring some other fighter back like he did with Raditz. Based on what Arame could infer from what the others had told her, the opponents would only get stronger if that was the case.  
Raditz had been a test of the waters, as they'd established previously. It would explain why he went down so easily, as nothing but a mere pushover next to a super saiyan. Chronos would have known about that, so he had used Raditz as a warning of some kind, and gave them all a taste of what was to come.  
Arame would be ready to meet the threat, no matter what it was.

The following morning, Arame was up bright and early to meet Kakarot out in the field near his house. Lettuce, carrots, radishes, and various other vegetables stretched out ahead of them.   
Arame was perplexed. "Is this supposed to be training?"  
"Yeah, it's a great workout!" Kakarot proclaimed. "Master Roshi used to have me and Krillin doing stuff like this all the time."  
Arame looked across the expansive field. It was an impressive collection of vegetables of all kinds. "Wow...okay."  
"We're actually gonna see who can harvest these crops the fastest out of all three of us," Kakarot went on.  
Arame raised an eyebrow. "That doesn't really seem like--"  
"Go!"  
Goten and Kakarot dashed forward.  
"Shit," muttered Arame. She was a few milliseconds behind them as she dove forward and started digging her hands through the dirt.   
Huge clouds of earth were flying as the three of them tore into the crop, sending those harvested backwards into collection bins that had probably been used before. Probably something Bulma made...crazy human scientist she is.  
Arame pushed hard to keep up, and her muscles were working all the harder for it. It actually was an efficient workout, she discovered. But she wasn't sure about how many barriers it would help her break.  
Regardless, she pushed on.   
Of course, by the time the whole crop was harvested, she'd only managed to beat Goten by four seconds. Kakarot had beaten her by three.  
"Whew," he gasped, covered in a layer of dirt. He looked over at Arame, who was dirtier than Kakarot and Goten combined. "Not bad, Arame. You're doing pretty good with your training so far."  
Arame smirked.  
"Next, we should work on--"  
A distant explosion cut Goku's words off. He, Goten, and Arame looked out toward the distant south and saw flashes of light. The thunderous roars followed shortly after.  
"What's that?" Goten asked.  
"Nothing good," replied Goku. "We need to check it out!"  
He and Goten took off. Arame followed suit.  
She grimaced. "I can sense...two powers out there...and they're way above normal."  
"Oh yeah," Goten said. "Gohan taught you how to sense energy the other day."  
"I feel them too," said Goku. "They don't feel familiar either."  
The explosions were coming from near South City. By the time the three Saiyans arrived, a number of buildings had been destroyed. The two powers responsible were close enough to be seen now.  
Goku and Goten weren't as affected by the sight of them as Arame was.  
She stared in shock. "It...can't be..."

 

Six: The Return of Two Old Foes; Arame's Limit is Broken

"What's up, Arame?" asked Goku. "You know those two?"  
Arame swallowed. "I've only heard about them from my father and brother..." She paused. "It's...the one on the right is Zarbon, and the other...the big pink one...is Dodoria. They're two of Frieza's top lieutenants."  
Goten looked at Goku. "Didn't you kill him once, dad?"  
"I came close," Goku replied. "That was when I first hit the Super Saiyan level on Namek, decades ago. I think I heard Vegeta mention these two at some point from back then, but I only remember those, uh...Ginney guys, or whatever they were called..."  
Arame looked at him. "Right, you said you fought Frieza and the Ginyu Force on Namek." She looked back at the other two. "But if they were killed then, then why are they here now?"  
"Beats me," said Goku. "I guess they're trying to pick a fight."  
Zarbon and Dodoria moved over to where they were in the air, floating about looking smug. They're just like dad told me.  
"Well, well, look at this," Zarbon said. "These Saiyans look just like the ones we're searching for."  
"Where's Vegeta?" demanded Dodoria. "I've got a bone to pick with that monkey prince!"  
"We'll find him in our own time," replied Zarbon. He looked at Arame. "And you're the one our new ally is taking special interest in."  
Arame growled. "Chronos again. Did he bring you two here?"  
"We've been told of everything," said Dodoria. "He told us that Lord Frieza was meant to take charge of the galaxy. But you're meddling kept that from happening, corrupting the timelines. He promised us we could return to Frieza's service, after we help him eradicate you."  
"Well, good luck with that!" Goku replied. "Goten, Arame, this'll be good training for you."  
"Don't have to tell me twice!" Arame rushed forward, aiming a kick at Dodoria's head.  
He caught her foot and smirked. "You apes are all the same." He tossed her towards a nearby building, which she crashed into at the speed of sound.  
Arame pounded her fist into the masonry near her as she struggled to her feet. "Dammit, Arame," she muttered to herself. "Why don't you think before you let your anger get the better of you again?"  
She looked up, where Goku and Goten were putting up a resilient resistance to Zarbon and Dodoria's attacks. Arame's pride flared up along with her anger. "Damn you, you pink blob!"  
Arame rushed upward with a new surge of energy and caught Dodoria off guard with a rush of strikes that all broke through his guard. This time, he was sent flying after Arame had hit him no less that thirteen times.  
As he flew, she blasted a barrage of Ki after him.   
This, he managed to push through as he came back and slammed her with his fist. She had her guard up this time though. Goten smashed Dodoria's side a few times, and Arame hammered his front.  
The two of them pushed him around like a ragdoll between them for a few seconds before Dodoria got the upper hand again and grabbed Goten's head, this time sending him flying toward a building. He followed up with a Ki wave.  
Arame struck again, but Dodoria blocked it and sent her away with three well timed kicks. She landed near where Goten was lying.  
"Hey, Goten," Arame gasped. "Got any ideas?"  
There was a burst of energy as Goten went to Super Saiyan level. "Should've started with this." He flew out of the rubble in a blitz.  
"Hey!" Arame took off right after him.  
When Arame rejoined the fray, Goten was already locked in a struggle with Dodoria. He was giving the pink buffoon everything he had, but they were a bit too evenly matched.   
Goku, meanwhile, was taking Zarbon to town. Yet Zarbon was somehow managing to hold his own and, considering Goku's power, that meant that Chronos must have given these two a major power boost after conscripting them.  
Dodoria and Goten locked hands.  
"You might as well face it, kid! You're outmatched!" Dodoria grunted.  
Arame thought quickly. She outstretched her hand quickly and sent a very tiny Ki burst from her palm that erupted in Dodoria's face, dazing him.  
He let go and gripped his face. "Agh! My eyes! Not again, dammit!"  
Goten took advantage and hammered Dodoria with everything he had. Once he had Dodoria on the ropes, he readied his hands in a spherical form next to his body and focused his Ki there. It encompassed the entire space with a strong blue glow.  
"Ka-me-" The glow got stronger, almost blinding. "Ha-me-" Goten flashed his hands forward, wrists together, fingers crooked, and the blue Ki energy erupted from his hand as he yelled, "HAA!"  
The Ki beam enveloped Dodoria. The power was so great that when everything was finished, there was only a smoldering corpse...just like Raditz after Gohan had finished with him.  
Goku had finished Zarbon just moments before. Arame kicked herself for missing that fight, but she had an inkling that she'd get to see Kakarot's power demonstrated before long.  
They sat on a building after everything was said and done.  
"What was that power you used, Goten?" asked Arame.  
"Oh, that was the kamehameha wave," replied Goten. "My dad learned it from Master Roshi when he was a kid and now, it's sort of a family thing." He looked to her. "What about what you did? That looked similar to Tien's Solar Flare."  
Arame blinked. "Oh, uh, I just thought about something that might work. Came up with that off the top of my head. Like a spark flash."  
Goten thought. "That sounds like a pretty good name for it, actually. Spark Flash."  
"Well, you've come pretty far in your training, Arame," said Goku. "When we first met, you were really weak. But after a few days with us, you're already able to hold your own against some tough opponents."  
Arame groaned. "I wish I'd gotten to take one myself, but...teamwork is fine for now. It has its benefits."  
"Yeah, but you wanna stand on your own two feet," said Goku. "I get ya." He stood up. "Well, I'm thinking we just do some basic sparring next. That fight should've warmed you up proper."  
Arame jumped up. "I'm just getting started."  
Goten groaned this time. "Man, you have a lot of juice."  
But he joined in anyway, regardless of the complaint.

Chronos should have been agitated, but in fact he was thrilled. His charge was making great progress. Soon, the time would come for him to turn her into the weapon that would wreak havoc upon this planet, and at the same time would make her his willing slave.  
He caressed the image of the planet Earth before him, as best he could anyway. When the implanted commands are issued, she will have no choice but to obey his every order, and her power would increase to unbelievable levels, even in her base form.  
The plan was proceeding perfectly, but there was no harm in causing a few more messes for her to clean up, was there? After all, these warriors from the past were offering valuable data for him to collect.  
He would right the wrongs of history. No matter what it took.

-End of Part Three-


	4. Part Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gohan and Goku have helped Arame grow stronger. But how will she fare against Vegeta's regimen?

Seven: Arame at the Limit! Training from the Prince of Saiyans!

"At last," Vegeta growled in his usual tone as he looked Arame over. "I see that training with Kakarot and his bookworm son haven't done much for your power, but I expected disappointment."  
Arame swallowed.  
"I'll push you to your limit," Vegeta told her. Then he turned fierce. "And then you will surpass that limit! If you're to train with me, I expect results! I don't tolerate failures!"  
"Yes, Prince!"  
Arame was wearing a body suit similar to Vegeta's. The only major difference was that hers was showing her muscular midriff and there was room for her tail. They were currently inside of Capsule Corporation's gravity chamber, where Vegeta did all of his training. The time was 8:00 in the AM.  
"Training begins now!"  
The gravity kicked in at his command. Two hundred times Earth's gravity instantly rooted Arame to the ground. And Vegeta came hurtling at her at the speed of sound.  
Oh shi-  
She wasn't ready.

Bulma Briefs sat in her lawn chair with her laptop, reviewing Arame's physiological data. She had insisted that Arame sit down with her for an examination before Vegeta altered her body irreparably.  
So far, things looked normal for her. At least as far as Saiyan biology went. She was giving off unusually strong gamma waves in her brain though. They seemed to have a different frequency than normal, and it wasn't connected to her Saiyan genes. Or at least, Bulma didn't think they were.  
Her hemoglobin was normal...for a Saiyan. Due to their enhanced body energy and metabolism, the RBC count of a Saiyan's body was five times that of a human.  
Biology and Anatomy weren't Bulma's strong points however, and most of this analysis was based on her cursory knowledge of the methodology.  
Trunks was keeping an eye on his six-year-old sister across the way as she bounced around the yard. Mostly to make sure she didn't fly away as Pan was known to do.  
He walked over to where Bulma was and said, "How do you think it's going in there?" Trunks was looking at the Capsule Corporation dome. "Dad's not known for being gentle with his training methods."  
"She's a Saiyan," Bulma replied. "And this is a Saiyan thing. It's best if we let them have at it."  
There was a moment of silence.  
"We have senzu beans, right mom?"  
Bulma glanced at him, dubiously.  
The time was 10:15 AM.

Arame had finally gotten used to the gravity effect. But she couldn't see straight through her concussion, black eye, and other physical wounds that Vegeta had inflicted on her.  
Yet she refused to stay down. Vegeta had her Saiyan blood boiling, and even though she couldn't fight him well, she was fighting with everything she had. But every time she came up short, she had to push herself harder and harder.  
Vegeta didn't even give her another second to breathe before he was attacking her again. She felt out with all of her senses, and was able to deflect or dodge most of his strikes. He deflected all of hers.  
Arame's head was pounding and her ears were ringing. She could barely see, and she tasted blood. Her legs ached to the point of collapse, her arms were leaden and felt like dead weight (incredibly numb and barely responding to her commands), and on top of all of that...she was starving!  
Arame lashed out herself, powering her Ki again. She actually surprised Vegeta a bit. That had happened three times in this training session thus far.  
But despite all of her effort, Vegeta still beat her down. Yet again.  
The time was 4:20 PM.

"Still can't believe your dad agreed to train anyone," said Mai, who had come over to visit. She and Trunks were enjoying the sunset on one of the decks. "It's like, six o'clock...how long have they been in there?"  
"Since eight this morning," replied Trunks.  
"Shit," Mai muttered. "That's intense."  
"No kidding," said Trunks. "I'm wondering just how much she can take, and I'm not looking forward to what she's going to look like when she comes out of there."  
Mai looked to him. "Well, let's go find out. Your mom's headed that way." She went to follow.  
Trunks made to follow her.  
The three of them stood outside the gravity chamber, at a distance, and waited. It opened at exactly 6:04 PM, for the first time since 8:00 that morning.  
Vegeta stepped out first and headed off down the corridor, past everyone else.  
He stopped next to Bulma for a second and said, "She made progress." Then he kept walking.  
Arame walked out at last, looking like she'd been beaten to a pulp. Yet she flexed her neck and still carried herself with pride. She looked at the others. "Hey, Bulma...Trunks." She walked up to them and looked at Mai. "I haven't seen you yet."  
"Mai," the other introduced herself.  
"Trunks's girlfriend," Bulma said.  
Mai and Trunks turned red but made no move to correct Bulma.  
Arame raised an eyebrow. "Okay..." She looked at Bulma. "Well, anything to eat? I'm famished."  
"Not yet," Bulma retorted, her expression stern. "I've had enough Saiyan stink for one lifetime. Shower, miss. Then we'll talk food."  
Arame's eyebrow went higher. But she knew better than to argue with Vegeta's mate.

It took Arame a moment to figure out exactly how the 'shower' worked, but it was similar to something she'd used before. Though it had only been once. She decided to make it a cold shower for endurance training purposes. And by cold, she meant ice water basically.  
Afterward, she headed outside on the deck to stare up at the stars again. It was something she had a habit of doing now it seemed.  
She would never have admitted it, but it was a distant homesickness. Unlike Kakarot and Vegeta, she wasn't used to Earth just yet. She was a Saiyan far from home, and she didn't really have anything to hold onto here. Nothing but a lust for battle that itched in her mind at all times, a desire for vengeance, and an ever present hunger for another meal.  
Arame was hit with a sudden wave of loneliness. She might not have been the last Saiyan, but she was the only one without ties that bind. Kakarot...Prince Vegeta...they both moved on. They have lives here...families. We're the last of an endangered species...and in enough years, there won't be any pure Saiyans left.  
But the half-Saiyans...those who had a touch of both Saiyan and Earthling in them, they were a unique breed. They had the ferocity of the old Saiyan race, but they also had something else in them.  
Arame smiled to herself. Maybe I'll find a tough Earthling and get my own half-Saiyan children. That'd sure piss father off if he could find out about it. Or maybe not, if he knew how much power they had.  
Someone left the domed building below her and stepped into the yard below, heading for the gazebo. Upon a closer inspection, Arame realized that it was Trunks.  
She hadn't had much opportunity to talk with him, so this seemed to be a perfect chance. Arame jumped off the balcony and flew down to meet with him.  
"Hey, Trunks!"  
He turned to look at her as she landed near him. "Oh, hey Arame. What are you doing out here?"  
"Oh, just watching the stars and thinking," she replied. "Mai already leave?"  
"Yeah, she just comes by every so often," said Trunks. "So what were you thinking about? Anything big?"  
Arame's face fell. "Oh...just the fact that I'm part of an endangered species. I feel kind of alone."  
Trunks blinked. "Weird...you're not the only Saiyan here. Goku and my dad are still around, and there's me, Goten, and Gohan...and my sister Bulla...and Pan too for that matter. We all have a bit of Saiyan in us."  
Arame nodded. "Yeah, I get that. But the lonely bit comes from...well, I just..." She didn't really know how to talk about it. Arame shut her eyes and sighed. "I'm not like all of you. I'm not used to this planet yet, and I don't really have anything to hold onto. No ties to bind me to anything."  
"Well, that's something you have to make for yourself, I think," Trunks said. "Goku had his friends when he was younger. Like Krillin and my mom. My dad was obsessed with beating him...like blindly obsessed...but even he found things to give him roots. It's not really easy, but you can find things to make your life easier. It just takes time and effort."  
Arame pondered his words for a moment. Then she said, "I see your point, Trunks."  
Trunks smirked. "Maybe you could do with a boyfriend for a start?"  
Arame looked at him. "That reminds me...Bulma called you Mai's boyfriend. What...is that exactly?"  
The look on Trunks's face couldn't really be described. It was caught somewhere between surprised, amused, and scared. "Uh...you're kidding, right?"  
Arame raised an eyebrow. "Is it some kind of earth thing?"  
"It's, uh, a boyfriend...or a girlfriend...is someone you like spending time with," Trunks told her. "Close...together time."  
"Uhh," Arame thought for a bit, racking her brain. Only one thing came to mind. "So...like a mate?"  
Trunks started. "WHAT? No, no, not like that." He laughed nervously. "It's nothing that deep. It's just..." He paused. "Well, it's kind of like that, but it's not that deep. It's sort of like...a trial period, I guess? You want to see if you'd be good with that person, so you go on dates and do stupid stuff together."  
"Oh, okay," Arame replied. "I think I'm getting it. But how do earthlings tell if someone is interested in them? Saiyans are usually interested in fighting prowess."  
Trunks blushed, but it was so dark that Arame couldn't quite see it. "Well, you might notice their...physical assets...for one. Like, uh..."  
Arame cocked her head, confused.  
Trunks pointed at her chest.  
Arame looked down, and even opened the front of her shirt. "What? My chest?"  
"What are you two talking about?"  
Trunks and Arame turned to see Bulma approaching them, cigarette in hand, and she was giving them the oddest look.  
"Oh, uh..."Trunks started. "We were just, uh..."  
"I heard it actually," Bulma said. "I just wanted to see if you'd admit it."  
"Miss Bulma," Arame said to her, "Trunks said males might be interested in my chest as a source of physical attraction. What for?"  
Bulma took a drag on her cigarette and sighed deeply. "Oh man, you Saiyans are so clueless." She walked up to Arame and whispered the reason in her ear.  
Arame was dumbfounded. "They...want to imagine me naked? Does that even matter?"  
"It does to earth males," Bulma replied.  
Trunks was as red as a sunset and had his back turned to them.  
Then a thought struck Arame. "Wait...I was sparring with Goten a few days ago. He got distracted when my gi was torn at the front. He was staring at--" She stopped, the truth dawning on her. "Ohhh, my..."  
Bulma said nothing, but she did chuckle.  
"Goten was imagining me..." She blinked. "And that's why he..."  
"Trunks, I think our little Saiyan friend here needs a moment to think," Bulma said. "Let's head back inside."  
Trunks took off toward the dome at a near sprint. Bulma was snickering something fierce as she followed at a brisk walk.  
Meanwhile, Arame plopped her ass right in the grass and stared at the darkness in front of her. "Goten's having romantic thoughts about me?"  
That's gonna take some getting used to, she said to herself. Maybe those kids aren't too far away, huh?  
SHUT UP!

Day two of training with Vegeta could have been summarized as 'second verse, same as the first'. Except this time, Arame was able to adapt quicker. She struggled against his relentless onslaught and managed to retaliate more times than yesterday.  
However, her mind was elsewhere. Especially given yesterday's surprise revelation concerning Goten. It wasn't exactly putting her in an ideal fighting state but she was determined to power through it.  
Keep mind focused on my training. Everything else can come later.  
Except that her mind suddenly flashed with something else. Another thought wormed its way into her consciousness. Or perhaps it was a vision.  
Chronos was there, and so was someone else. He was like a wall of muscle, and the Time Warden had apparently just pulled him from the depths of the time stream moments before, just like he had with Raditz, and Zarbon and Dodoria.  
Another test? Or is this one meant to actually be a challenge?  
Vegeta's fist came flying through the vision and sent Arame sprawling.  
"You're faltering!" he yelled at her. "Keep your focus where it belongs!" He charged her again.  
Arame steeled herself. If it's another test, I'll be ready for it. She redoubled her effort, and suddenly the Prince had a harder time finding an opening. There was a clilck in Arame's mind. Chronos's face flashed again, eyes white and glowing, and immediately Arame let off a huge burst of power the likes of which Vegeta nor she had expected.  
Her strength and speed were heightened, her awareness was expanded, and although they were only marginal, they made quite a difference in her combat ability.  
At her sudden change, Vegeta powered himself to his Super Saiyan level. Once more, he had the upper hand, but Arame was barely fazed by the assault. Yet she was going to be sporting those bruises for a few hours.

Piccolo looked out across the expanse of Earth's horizon from the edge of the Lookout. There was a familiar power out there now, but way beyond what he'd sensed before. It's signature was off the charts, and he knew that everyone else would be able to feel it.  
"Do you feel that?" he asked Dende, who was standing nearby.  
Dende was visibly agitated by the sensation himself. "Yeah...it's unreal."  
"I've felt this kind of power before," Piccolo replied, "but it's been so long I can't recall where or who it came from."  
"I just know that whatever's causing it is going to give us a lot of trouble," Dende said.  
"It's near West City," Piccolo observed. "That's Vegeta's territory, so he'll probably be there first. Arame's training with him right now though, so I don't know how it's going to be handled."  
"Violently," said Dende. "That's something that never really changes."  
Piccolo grunted.

 

-End of Part Four-


	5. Part Five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arame is forced to face her past in the most brutal way.

Eight: The Brutality of Saiyans! Arame vs Kyukon!

The being was a mountain of muscle, with dark spiky hair that flared out only on the right side of his head. His eyes were intense, and wrapped around his waist was a tail.   
A Saiyan.  
Without effort, he raised his hand and fired a massive energy blast into the suburb below him, turning it into a crater.

* * *

Arame's eyes snapped open. She'd had plenty of time to recover after her latest spar with Vegeta, and he needed time to himself for the moment, so she was sitting out on the lawn of Capsule Corporation. He'd been contacted by Dende apparently.  
She was still thinking about Goten for one. Is he really interested in me? I mean, I notice his fighting skill...he'd be a good sparring partner, but...  
"No," she muttered under her breath, "I'm thinking about this too deeply. I don't think it's supposed to be complicated."  
Suddenly, the horizon lit up with an explosion. The intensity was felt even as far away as she was, and the brilliance was blinding. Arame could only stare in abject stupefication at the resulting plume of smoke that rose from the distant impact site and at the ash that began to drift around the whole of West City.  
Bulma rushed out of Capsule Corporation with Trunks right behind her literally seconds later.  
"What the hell was that?" She demanded.  
Arame looked back at her. "I don't know, but whatever it was it was intense!"  
She looked up just in time to see a blur flying through the sky that must have been Vegeta. Arame joined him as quickly as she could, and Trunks followed shortly after.  
Arame could sense the power out there. It was definitely one of Chronos's minions, and there were more explosions even as they closed the distance.  
Trunks and Arame landed not too far away from where Vegeta had touched down, and they could see a brute of a man standing out in the middle of the rubble. He was at least seven feet tall and had to have three hundred pounds of muscle on him.  
Arame recognized the armor. It was Saiyan armor. And wrapped around his waist was a tail. How many more of us survived? No! Wait! This has to be Chronos's work. Who is this?  
The man looked at them, turning his head at last.  
The hair. Arame knew this Saiyan, but it couldn't be possible that he would be here. Did Chronos really reach this far into the past? Was this another test?  
Memories rushed back as she looked into those hateful dark eyes once more.

* * *

Arame, aged four, struggled to her feet. Her older brother, who had a whole ten years on her, stormed over to her and picked her up by the throat, holding her in a vice grip.  
She looked into his hateful eyes. 'You're weak,' he growled. 'You bend and break too easily.' He slammed his fist into her gut until she coughed up blood. 'And you would dare to call yourself a Saiyan? To call yourself my own KIN?'  
Arame was slammed into the ground. Then her brother had his boot to her throat. 'I should kill you right now,' he fumed. 'I'd be doing us all a favor. One less wretch to sully our race.'  
'Kyu...kon...' Arame gasped.   
He kicked her away.  
'Piece of trash,' he hissed.  
Arame pounded her fist into the ground, tears stinging her eyes. 'I am strong,' she growled to herself. 'I will be a warrior.' She glared after him. 'I'll break you next time.'

* * *

Back in the present, Arame was staring in shock at her supposedly long dead brother, Kyukon. He looked over them, and his eyes settled on Arame.  
"I know that face," he said menacingly. He charged his Ki, and it exploded all around him, shaking the air itself.  
Arame glared at him with hatred.  
"You should be dead!" She yelled. "Why the hell aren't you dead?!"  
Kyukon laughed. "Are you kidding? Chronos pulled me here. Why else would I have come? When he told me I'd get the chance to crush you again, I jumped at the opportunity!"  
"Who the hell are you?" yelled Vegeta. "And am I to assume the noise you created was to get our attention?"  
"My name is Kyukon!" Yelled the other. "I am the brother of that little runt bitch there with you, and I wanted to call you all here so you could watch her die!"  
Arame screamed in fury, her Ki rising to levels she'd never dreamed she could reach.  
Kyukon laughed. "So you've managed to get stronger? Good. Maybe you'll give me a challenge this time!"  
"I'm not a child anymore, you bastard!" Arame yelled back. She could feel the presence of others who had just arrived. Kakarot and several others.   
Vegeta crossed his arms. "If it's a fight you're looking for, I'd ordinarily oblige you. But a simple low class warrior like yourself isn't worth my time."  
"He's MINE!" Arame yelled, stepping forward. Her voice dropped to a darker tone. "I was forced to tolerate abuse from this ass long before I was subjected to what Chronos did."  
"You've grown a spine," said Kyukon. "I'll be happy to break it for you."  
"I'll tear your tail off and choke you with it," Arame said.  
Brother and sister stared each other down at a distance of forty yards. He stood there looking as smug and hateful as ever. Arame was pissed off just staring at his face.  
He killed all those earthlings. He brutalized me as a child. He's monstrous even for a Saiyan! I can't forgive him! "I WILL RIP OUT YOUR HEART!"  
She charged forward. He did the same.  
The two Saiyan siblings met with a ferocious clash, and Arame instantly knew that this was going to be one of her toughest battles ever.  
They started trading blows, but neither one's guard wavered, even for a second. This was what Arame had been training for. All the work she'd put in had been for this. But the last person she'd ever expected to face down was her own brother.  
With a hard kick, Kyukon sent Arame flying into the air. As he rushed up to capitalize, she vanished, only to reappear behind him and slam him in the back with her elbow. She then grabbed his tail and hurled him into the ground, following up with a rush of Ki energy that she unleashed with a roar of ferocity.  
Kyukon certainly felt that, but it wasn't long before he was back at his assault. He launched a kick at her side. Arame allowed it to connect, lifted his leg and smashed her boot into his crotch no less than three times.   
She hurled her fist into his gut, grabbed him by the throat, and rushed him into the ground, cracking the earth beneath them.  
Arame forced her hands around his throat with everything she had, teeth gritted, eyes wild with fury.  
Kyukon powered his Ki again and rocked Arame with the force alone.  
He then grabbed her, and sent her flying some distance away. Arame slowed herself by digging all four of her limbs into the ground.  
"You are stronger!" He yelled at her. "Where was this tenacity all those years ago?  
Arame glared back at him.  
"I'm curious about how much more interesting this fight can get."  
That voice came from above them.  
Arame and the others looked up to see one of Chronos's agents floating above. He raised his hand, there was a purple flash, and suddenly, everyone gathered there was frozen again. Not time-wise, like before...but a paralysis.   
All they could do was watch.  
"I know you'll try to interfere," the agent said. His single eye surveyed them all cautiously. "I can't let that happen." To Kyukon, he said, "You know what to do."  
"I'm curious as to how much more of a fight you can put up," Kyukon told his sister, "when your limits are broken."  
Arame raised an eyebrow. "What?"  
Her brother raised his hand near his chest and started powering energy within his hand. Arame recognized it. "Don't you dare!"  
Kyukon hurled the energy into the sky, where it burst to create a dazzling effect.  
But Arame kept her eyes averted.  
She glanced up to see her brother increasing in size. He was taking on the form of an Oozaru, a Saiyan Great Ape. And if Arame looked up, she'd end up the same way.  
There was a might crashing footstep some distance away. "What's wrong, sister?" Called her brother's now deep and grating voice. His transformation was complete.  
Arame refused to look up. Doing that would be just what Chronos wanted, she was sure of it.  
She felt the presence of her brother's foot above her, ready to crush her, and she dashed out of the way just in time to avoid it. Yet she couldn't dodge the eruption of energy that he sent her way immediately afterward. Arame went sprawling, but she kept her eyes shut.  
"So this is how it ends!" Her brother roared as he prepared to stomp her again. "A fitting end for you, Arame. A stain under my boot!"  
Something pushed her out of the way this time.  
Arame happened to glance over, as little as she could dare, and saw (to her surprise) Videl. She shoved her hand over Arame's eyes. "Keep your eyes shielded!"  
"I can't fight him like this!" Arame yelled back.   
"Just keep your eyes shut, Arame!" Videl ordered as she picked Arame up and started flying off somewhere. "Gohan can keep him busy for now."  
There was a roar from Kyukon, followed by an eruption of power.  
Videl put her down. There was a momentary pause, and then she shoved something into Arame's hands. It was a long strip of cloth.   
Arame knew what to do. She took the cloth and started layering it over her eyes until she had a suitable blindfold. She tied it off tightly behind her head and felt out for energy signatures.  
She felt Videl's right next to her, and she turned to regard her. Just like Gohan had taught her. In the space ahead of them, she could feel Gohan's energy as he was keeping Kyukon at bay.  
"Ready, Arame?" Videl asked. "Gohan said the blindfold would be enough."  
Arame got to her feet. "Yeah!"  
She could feel the power her brother was radiating. It was immense, but she forced herself to believe that it wouldn't be enough.   
"Let's go!" Videl rushed down alongside Arame. "I'm not going to be left out of this fight!"  
"Videl, it's too dangerous!" Gohan called to his wife.  
"I can take care of myself!" She yelled back.  
The three of them were floating relatively close to each other. "Alright then, go for the tail! Without his tail, his ape form is finished!"  
"Give my brother everything you've got! This bastard deserves no mercy!" She rushed toward her brother, readying her energy.  
Gohan and Videl split off.  
Arame's blast hit her brother full on in the face, knocking him off balance this time. Gohan and Videl both rammed him in the gut, full force. Kyukon fell over, causing the ground to quake. Though Arame couldn't feel it, she could tell. Some of the nearby rubble was knocked about in the shockwave.  
Arame felt another power approaching her and turned to block the fist of Chronos's agent; the being who had paralyzed everyone else right before the arrival of Gohan and Videl.  
She could feel the surprise and disdain from the being. "A blindfold? The insolence!"  
"What do you care?" Arame replied as she hammered him with a few blows that he managed to deflect. "What does Chronos care? I'm not his pawn! I'm his death!"  
The agent of Chronos was relatively tough. They went back and forth for quite a bit, neither one giving even the slightest hint of an opening. Meanwhile, Gohan and Videl were still giving her brother as much trouble as they could, but this guy was holding Arame back.  
Her anger was rising. "You're distracting me!"  
He hammered into her block. "You could make quick work of me as a monkey! Why not let it happen?"  
"Because I'm not a weak-willed warrior!" Arame yelled. "I'll kill you with my own two hands! No extra power needed!"  
"You can't even get through my guard, you little runt!"  
There it was again. Her brother had called her a runt before, the other Saiyan children had always made sure to do the same. They called her weak and useless, and now this wretched upstart was trying to do the same.  
Arame built her Ki rapidly. She wanted her revenge. She demanded it.   
"Get out of my WAY!" Her Ki exploded and knocked her opponent back. Arame rushed forward and kicked him across the face, her power and speed having increased yet again. "Filthy." She punched him. "Myopic." She grabbed his throat in a vice. "Piece of shit! You and your master are worthless! You spread devastation and destruction in the name of righting the wrongs of history. And you torture innocents because you think they're beneath you!"  
"So did the Saiyans!" The agent replied, spitting up orange blood. "You're not a race of warriors! You're barbarians!"  
Arame kicked him into the air and blasted him with a tremendous burst of Ki. "Sometimes a warrior has to be barbaric to get her point across."   
Everyone came unfrozen from their state, but Arame wasn't focused on that. She rushed down to meet her brother, who was still rampaging. Gohan was already a Super Saiyan, but Kyukon was still giving him a tough time. Videl was still in this thing as well, but she looked like she'd gotten too close to a Ki blast. She was smoldering a bit and looked like she was exhausted.  
"This thing is relentless!" She said.  
"I don't remember any Great Ape being this strong before!" Gohan yelled.  
"It doesn't matter how strong he is," Arame remarked. She aimed her hand. "He'll slow down if I flash him."  
Videl glanced over at Arame. "Umm...Arame?"  
Arame wasn't paying attention. She unleashed a tiny burst of Ki at her brother's face, yelling out, "Spark Flash!"  
The tiny Ki spark burst into an enormous flash of light. Electricity began sparking along Kyukon's face, and he roared in pain as it stung him.  
"Come on!" Arame yelled. "Gohan! Videl! We hit him now! Then someone cut his tail off! I need it for something!"  
Together the three of them rushed into Kyukon's gut and knocked him to the ground. He was dazed and exhausted, but he still had fight in him, Arame could tell.  
There was an explosion behind them suddenly, the feeling of Ki energy being cancelled.  
"Arame!" Yelled Vegeta's voice. "You can take off your blindfold!"  
Arame grabbed the cloth and pulled it from her face. Far below, her brother was shrinking in size until he was back to normal.  
Kyukon lay on the ground, struggling to see straight due to his sister's sparking attack.   
Suddenly, Arame landed right on top of him, driving her foot into his gut. She kicked him across the face, and then slammed her boot down on his throat, aiming her hand directly at her brother's head.  
She smiled maliciously. "My how the mighty have fallen."  
Kyukon spat blood. "Couldn't take me yourself? Are you so afraid of your Saiyan heritage?"  
Arame pushed her foot in harder. "You threatened my new home. And you serve Chronos now. Your death will be a strong message to him."  
"You...really aren't aware?" Kyukon gasped. "He...wants you to be stronger. He wants...you to...grow into a powerful instrument. You're a tool...just like I am."  
Arame readied her Ki at her palm. "You were."  
"Go ahead and finish me...runt."  
There was a flash of Ki, and Kyukon's head disintegrated.  
Arame turned back toward the others. There was no pride in her eyes, or any thrill at having finally claimed her revenge for years of torment. She was only feeling a deep sadness.  
Yet her body's power did give out, causing her to collapse, unconscious.

* * *

"The power she exhibited in that fight was incredible," Piccolo told Goku a little later on. "Dende and I could sense it from here."  
They were on the Lookout now, and Dende had just healed Arame. She was now contemplating with the Namekian Guardian about what exactly her brother had meant.  
"Does Chronos plan to use you somehow?" Dende asked her.  
Arame sighed. "I don't know. But whatever he intends to do, I'm going to be ready for it."  
"More training?"  
"Seems that's all I can do," Arame said. "But my time with Vegeta's up now. He told me right before my brother arrived. I need to find the next level on my own."  
"Well, maybe Goku can point you in the right direction."  
Arame looked over at where he and Piccolo were talking. "Yeah...maybe." She got up and walked over to them. "Kakarot!" Arame called out as she approached them.  
Goku and Piccolo turned to regard her.   
"What's up, Arame?" Goku asked her.  
"Vegeta said I need to cross my next barrier on my own," replied Arame, "and Dende said you could point me in the right direction. Who could I talk to for more training? Unique training."  
Goku thought for a moment. "Well, 'on your own' usually means without help, but I think someone could give you guidance. Maybe...Tien?"  
"He's got a lot of students at his dojo right now," said Piccolo. "He might not have the time to help Arame get her power up to snuff. Plus, his techniques might not be fit for Saiyans."  
"Well, training is training," Goku replied. "What about you?"  
Piccolo started. "Uh...I'm busy looking into Chronos right now. I can't really spare the time."  
"But you and Arame can use the Room of Spirit and Time," Goku offered. "Get a whole year of training in a day."  
Arame blinked in surprise. "Run that by me again?"  
"Thoughts for later," Piccolo told her sharply. To Goku, he added, "Anyone else come to mind?"  
Goku thought for a second, and then snapped his fingers. "I know one person."  
Piccolo watched him for a moment, and then his eyes went wide. "Oh no...this can't end well."  
Goku chuckled cheerfully.  
Arame just waited patiently.

* * *

The Turtle Hermit looked out his window as the Saiyan girl landed on his beach. "Ohoho! Oolong, you're not gonna believe this!"  
Oolong looked out the window too. "At least this means you have to put on pants now."  
Arame looked at the humble little abode. Kame House? This is where Master Roshi lives? It's...serene.  
Roshi himself came out to greet her. He was wearing a red floral shirt, blue shorts, and carried a staff. She also regarded his sunglasses and the turtle shell on his back.  
"Hey there!" He called out. "I heard about you from Goku a while back. The new Saiyan girl, right?"  
"I'm Arame," she told him. "Kakarot told me I could see you about training methods."  
"Well, the turtle school is usually selective," said Roshi, "but...you definitely qualify for training from me."  
Arame looked down at her body suit. "Well, first things first...I need to get out of these clothes. Got anything better?"  
Roshi chuckled happily. "Oh, sure do. Ever worn a weighted gi before?"  
Arame smirked.

 

-End of Part Five-


	6. Part Six

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After her training with Roshi, Arame's power has increased again. But she has more barriers to cross. One more challenge awaits her.

Nine: Chronos Goes Silent?! Arame's New Skills!

Chronos stared out at the endless expanse of time before him. It stretched on into infinity, in both directions. It was the purest thing, but it could be so easily corrupted by both mortals and gods.   
Arame is proving to be an intriguing challenge, he thought. She has yet to cross the Super Saiyan barrier, but her power has grown immensely in her time on earth.  
Even after a month of silence, he could feel her power growing. She was still training. She was still pushing herself. The time was near at hand. Even her will could be broken with the right amount of pressure.  
But now I think it's time to end the tests. Now it's time for the real challenge. The only way to right the wrongs of history is by wiping the life from this planet. But that's not enough. It must be done in the proper way. Any method not carefully planned out and controlled could create yet more ripples in space time.   
The destruction must be contained within a sphere of time itself. The planet's rotation must be locked, and it must be drawn into oblivion.  
By the time I'm finished, Earth will never have existed at all.

* * *

"Hey, Goten, have you heard from Arame lately?"  
Goten looked over at Trunks and shook his head. "No one has. She's been gone for...a month or something?"  
"Yeah," said Trunks. "My mom was asking about her earlier."  
"Did that whole thing with her brother get to her?"  
"Yeah. You know what she was like during that fight."  
Goten sighed. "Hope she's okay. Moments like that can really change you."

* * *

"I'm not getting any readings on any of my instruments," Bulma said to Piccolo, who had come to check up on things with her. Bulma was keeping an eye on strange energy signatures for him, monitoring for any sign of Chronos. But it was as if he'd vanished.  
"He's in the time stream then," said Piccolo. "If we can't find him, it means he's moving through time itself."  
"By his own power? That's incredible."  
"Don't sound so impressed," Piccolo told her. "He wants to wipe out the planet. Remember?"  
Bulma nodded. "I remember. Can't hurt to admire his techniques though. That kind of thing is unreal."  
"He's a being that goes beyond our understanding."  
There was a pause.  
"Have you heard anything from our new Saiyan refugee?" Bulma then asked.  
Piccolo grunted. "Goku recommended she go and train with Master Roshi for some time. I'd guess she's out there at Kame House with him."  
"Roshi?" Bulma declared. "Oh boy...I pity her."  
"He's gotten better about that, but...old habits do die hard."  
"Shouldn't someone go check on her? She might be a Super Saiyan by now."  
"I don't think so. We'd probably have felt that."  
"Well someone still needs to go," Bulma said finally.  
"If you're so concerned then send Goten or Trunks," Piccolo replied.  
Bulma headed outside where she knew Goten and Trunks were and said, "Alright, Arame's been out at Kame House training with Roshi for the past month, Chronos has gone silent, and we need to find out what's going on on both fronts. Which one of you wants to volunteer to fly over and check on your new Saiyan sister?"  
Goten and Trunks exchanged looks. Then Trunks exclaimed, "Goten volunteers! Arame thinks pretty highly of him anyway."  
"Alright, Goten," said Bulma. "Shouldn't take you too long, right?"  
Goten gave her a bemused look before taking off, heading toward Kame House.  
It was a bit of a long flight, and he had some time to enjoy the blue of the ocean and sky, even as he left behind the continent and neared his destination.  
He saw it in the distance after fifteen straight minutes, and when he touched down on sand at last, Arame was nowhere to be found.  
Roshi was relaxing in his beach chair though. He looked up. "Oh, hey there Goten! Here for your girlfriend?"  
Goten turned red. "Uh...we're not-"  
"She's a bit preoccupied at the moment," Roshi went on. "I swear that girl has as much determination as Goku when he was younger." He paused. "Same as now, I imagine." Pause. "Yeah, she's as determined as Goku is."  
"Well, where's she at?" Goten inquired.  
"Aww," said a familiar voice from somewhere nearby, "you're worried about me?"  
Goten turned to see Arame standing near the house, leaning against it. She was wearing an orange turtle hermit gi, sans undershirt, and was barefoot. She had her arms crossed and was giving Goten a look that might have been classified as 'smarmy', but that was up for debate.  
"Well, yeah," Goten replied. "You've been gone for, like, a month. Some of us miss your company."  
"That's nice," she replied. "I guess I'm growing on you guys."  
"Plus, after the episode with your brother...we had to make sure."  
Arame got off the house and walked over to where Goten and Roshi were. "Well, I've pushed myself as hard as I can, and I'm eager to see where I've gotten."  
"She's made some excellent progress," said Roshi.  
"I learned some new techniques too."  
"Well, Trunks is still at Capsule Corp," said Goten. "You can test yourself with us."  
"Sounds great," Arame remarked. To Roshi, she said, "I'm heading back to Capsule Corporation, Master Roshi. Thanks for the help."  
"Don't sweat it," he replied. "It's always nice to get visitors."  
As they flew back to CC, Goten looked to Arame and asked, "He wasn't acting weird when you were with him, was he?"  
"Weird how?"  
"Like...spying on you or anything? He has been known to be a bit of a lecher."   
Arame looked at Goten. "After a while, he got used to me stripping naked and swimming five miles around the ocean every morning."  
Goten sputtered in shock. "Wh-Wha...wait, you-? Seriously?"  
"Yeah," Arame replied. "It was a part of my morning routine. That and a quick six-thousand push-ups and crunches."  
Goten was red again.  
Arame smiled. Thanks to that chat with Bulma some time back, she knew what Goten was thinking about. During her time with Roshi, Arame had decided to ask him a little more about human sexuality, and she decided to use the knowledge to mess with Goten a bit, just to gauge his reaction.  
Of course, the bit about the swimming routine was true.  
But at present, she was more focused on testing her new power levels. Chronos might be readying another assault soon. During her whole time at Kame House, Arame had been waiting for word about another attack. But the word never came.  
A whole month had gone by, and every day the silence was deafening. What was he planning?

* * *

Goten and Arame found Trunks waiting in the yard.  
"Arame," said Trunks as they landed, "nice gi. I guess you were training with Master Roshi."  
"Yeah, but it's not enough yet," Arame replied. "I don't know how to break the Super Saiyan barrier. Is it because of my tail?"  
"I don't think so," Trunks told her. "I guess that's your next hurdle, huh?"  
"Yeah," Arame said. "I'm not stopping until I've crossed that limit. And then I'll keep going. I have to."  
"Well, how about sparring with us?" asked Trunks.  
"Goten already mentioned it," said Arame. "I'm game for it if you are. Don't hold back."  
Trunks took off his jacket. "Got it. This should be fun."  
He and Goten rushed her at once. She caught both of their strikes with her hands, countered with a twirling kick that Trunks dodged, but Goten caught in the side of the head.  
Arame backflipped a distance of three meters and took her combat stance. "Yeah, okay...now hit me for real."

* * *

Videl and Bulma were sitting inside of Capsule Corporation watching Pan and Bulla while they were playing. Videl was sipping from a cup of coffee while Bulma was analyzing something on a little minature computer that fit into her hand. It was about the size of the dragon radar.  
"What are you doing?" Videl asked her.  
"I have to keep monitoring for those strange energy readings that the Chronos guy puts out," Bulma said. "It's like, every time he makes a direct action, I can get a read on time ripples. It's like he's weakening the fabric at his will."  
"But I thought he could control time," Videl replied.  
Bulma groaned. "I'm thinking that it's more likely that he needs to build power for large changes. His own power allows him to control time around himself, and his ship has a power core that allows him to move his ship through space time. But he's more of an intelligent foe than an overpowered one."  
"Makes him even more scary, ironically," Videl said.  
"I think Buu was scarier."  
"Ugh, don't remind me," Videl remarked with a shudder. "He ate me."  
"Me too, Videl," said Bulma with a reassuring smile, "but you don't see me dwelling on it."  
Videl grimaced. "Easy for you to handle maybe. Some of us still have nightmares."  
"Mommy!" exclaimed Bulla, who was now looking out the window. "Armey's fighting big brother and Goten!"  
Bulma and Videl took the girls to go and see what was happening. Well, Videl did since Bulma practically rushed outside. Arame was back?  
Videl and the two girls joined Bulma on the deck and got a good look at what was happening in the lawn below them.

* * *

Arame was sweating now, and Goten and Trunks both had their shirts off by this time in the fight, which had been going on for almost twenty minutes. They were obviously serious.  
"Should I take off my shirt too?" Arame asked with a laugh.  
Trunks laughed as well, Goten turned a little red again, but they both kept their composure.  
"You've gotten a lot stronger," said Trunks. "I think we can kick this up even more."  
Arame had come to admire the golden Super Saiyan aura, but at this point it was only giving them a slight advantage. She had more bruises than they did, but she was focusing on reading their body language now, and her battle sight had gotten better thanks to her newfound mental focus.  
She could feel their strikes before they hit, so she was able to dodge a lot more of them. Regardless, this was still tough for her.  
"Don't tell me you've got more, guys," Arame said, giddy with anticipation. "You're gonna make my heart flutter."  
Trunks looked at Goten. "Let's do it then, Goten."  
"Right!"  
Goten and Trunks stepped up evenly next to each other and powered their Ki energy to exactly the same level.  
Arame watched what happened next with a raised eyebrow. It looked like a synchronized pose, and then it looked more like a dance. Then they touched fingers in a weird arc shape, and a bright light enveloped them.  
For a moment, Arame had to shield her eyes. When she looked back, she was face to face with a single person.  
He exploded his Ki and suddenly his golden hair got even longer. Not only that, but his aura became overwhelming.  
"Check this!" He said, his voice sounding like Trunks' and Goten's voices were overlapping in perfect synchronicity. "The one and only, Gotenks!"  
Arame was dumbfounded. "What the hell?"  
"Fusion makes two fighters become one," said Gotenks, "and we're not just Super Saiyan anymore. This is Super Saiyan Three!"  
"That power!" Arame exclaimed, feeling a little weak in the knees. "Oh hell yeah! Hit me with everything!"  
Arame's fight with Gotenks wasn't all that one-sided, to her credit. But Arame knew there was no way she could win this battle. His speed, his ferocity, it was all too much for her to take.   
She pushed Gotenks away for as long as she could, and she was still standing even when their fusion wore off. Yet Goten and Trunks had more in the tank than she did, and a combined strike from them brought Arame to her knees.  
"I'm finished," she said. "I don't have anything left."  
The two boys backed off.  
"That," she went on, "was absolutely incredible." Arame felt eyes on them and looked up to see Bulma, Videl, Bulla, and Pan watching them from the deck across the way.  
"Hey ladies!" She yelled out, waving.

* * *

"Arame," said Bulma. "I'm glad to see you've been working hard."  
"Never surrender," she replied.  
"Still can't go past the limit, huh?"  
"I've pushed myself as hard as I can." Arame scratched her head. Then she turned to Trunks and Goten and asked, "What's it like when you go Super Saiyan anyway?"  
The two half-Saiyans were caught off guard. "Oh, uh...it's sort of like...an emotional trigger," said Goten.  
"You can feel energy gathering at a point on your back, near the base of your skull," Trunks added. "It expands from there and makes your whole body feel lighter. You can see better, hear better, all of your battle senses are heightened and you can feel the power of your Ki radiating around you."  
"It's about focus?"  
"It may also be about power level," said Goten. "But from what I understand, you're well beyond the level my dad was at when he first went Super Saiyan."  
"If it's about anger," said Arame, "I know I'm pissed off about Chronos." She concentrated her energy at her center. "There may be more to it than just pure emotion. That sort of transformation may be the violent eruption. But can we tap into the power without an emotional trigger? Is that the handicap?"  
The others all watched her for a moment. "Uh, Arame?"  
Arame focused, a meditative focus, and centered all of her Ki, bringing her power level down to its lowest level. She was compressing everything into a single point.  
The harder she pushed her Ki down, the more pronounced it became. Arame kept her mind still and empty, and her power began to swell. It became a wellspring that she couldn't stop, and she let it flow outward and upward.  
The air around her gushed and her body sparked a bit as her Ki began radiating, powerfully yet gently around her. Her hair became golden for just a moment, and then it faded. She looked around at everyone.  
They were all watching her with curiosity.  
"Arame, you almost had it!" Goten exclaimed.  
Trunks blinked in surprise. "It's like your power level went from zero to infinity in a second. What did you do?"  
Arame looked at him. "I'm not sure. I think I need one final push. Contact Gohan and Kakarot, Goten. Bulma, can you get Vegeta in on this too? I have a favor to ask all of them."  
"What should we say?" asked Bulma.  
Arame's face became deadly serious. "I want them to fight me with everything they've got. Trunks and Goten too. I want, no I need to be pushed like never before. They have to try and kill me."  
Trunks and Goten both watched her, grim faced. They knew what to do. The other two ladies looked perplexed and worried.  
"Are you out of your mind?!" exclaimed Bulma.  
"Mom," Trunks interjected, "don't worry about it. This is a Saiyan thing."  
"Tomorrow. Nine AM. The wasteland southwest of North City." She took off with that, heading back out toward Kame House for the time being.  
This might be my last day on Earth.

-End of Part Six-


	7. Part Seven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will there be a new Super Saiyan? Or will the endangered species lose another?

Ten: Death Battle! The Test of Saiyan Might!

Arame sat alone in the middle of the rocky field, meditating. She could feel the energies around her, but they were miniscule. The lizard scrambling over the rock to the right. The birds that were flying by just overhead. Even the energies of the shrub grass all around her.   
She focused her energy at her center again and let it leave her outward and upward. Then she focused on keeping it contained.  
Arame felt them as they arrived, one by one.  
First were Goten and Gohan. They had come together and stood off to the right.  
"Nice to see you again, Gohan," said Arame. "It may be the last time we speak."  
"I'm aware," Gohan replied.  
Next came Vegeta and Trunks. To Vegeta, Arame said, "It was an honor training with you, Prince Vegeta." Her eyes were still closed. Vegeta harrumphed his acknowledgement.  
Finally, Goku arrived.  
At last, Arame opened her eyes, still seated on the rocky ground with her fingers interlocked before her. "I appreciate you all coming on such short notice." She paused. "You all know why we're here..."  
She stood up. "In my short time on this planet, I've gotten to know each one of you. You've grown on me, and I would love to see our relationships continue to grow." She steeled herself. "But I know there is a very real chance that I won't survive this. Of all the Saiyans gathered here, only I am not a Super Saiyan. Today that changes." She paused again. "Either I become a Super Saiyan...or there will be one less Saiyan on this planet."  
Vegeta flashed into Super Saiyan, followed by Trunks and Goten.  
"No holding back," Gohan said as he too went Super Saiyan.   
"It's time you prove you're worthy of the title of Saiyan warrior, Arame," Vegeta growled.  
At last, Goku joined the others in their golden states. "Arame. If you get to Otherworld...tell King Yemma I sent you. It might earn you some points."  
Arame smiled grimly. She closed her eyes, inhaled slowly, and focused her Ki inwardly.   
Then she exhaled sharply, eyes going wide. BEGIN!  
All at once, five Super Saiyans rushed at her. In that moment, everything seemed frozen.   
'You know, Arame...I've always thought that you had the spirit of a true warrior.' Mizuna's voice echoed across her distant memory. 'You aren't like other Saiyans. You understand that battle is not only the purest expression of strength, but of heart. And most importantly, you know when to fight...not simply how. Carry that spirit forward. Maybe one day, you'll be the legendary Super Saiyan.'   
Arame saw Mizuna's smile again, though the memory had lain dormant for years.  
Arame exploded her Ki, and rushed out to meet her fellow Saiyans in combat. This is for you, mother!

* * *

Across the world, earthquakes could be felt. Glass cracked and shattered miles away and numerous towns and cities suffered power outages. The clouds all dissipated from the blue sky, and the sea echoed with the intensity of the energy being dispersed. The power could be seen glowing on the horizon for miles around, and for a moment the world stood still.  
Videl looked up at the sky, holding her six-year-old daughter Pan. "Arame..." she said as she looked skyward. "You can do this."  
High up on the lookout, Dende, Mr. Popo, and Piccolo watched the location where the battle was being held with intense scrutiny.  
"She really might die?" Dende asked.  
"It's her intention to either get to the Super Saiyan level, or die trying," replied Piccolo. "She's a Saiyan to the bitter end."  
Bulma was at Capsule Corporation biting her nails in anticipation and anxiety. And she was on her fifth cigarette.   
"Armey! It's Armey!" Bulla was exclaiming as she watched the sky itself rippling out the window. Bulma could feel the vibrations in the walls of the building, however small they were.  
"Hang in there," muttered Bulma.  
Across the world, Chi-chi was dicing tomatoes as she saw the horizon lighting up and felt the ground quaking. She groaned in dismay. "Oh what is Goku getting up to now? Goten?" No answer. She looked around. "Goten?!"

* * *

The battle was beyond chaotic. There were no words to describe this clash of Saiyans.  
Arame traded blows with Gohan for a moment before being knocked away toward Goten. She righted herself and met his strike with a parry, and a kick. He countered that and sent her flipping away.  
Vegeta and Trunks caught her with rapid bursts of Ki energy.  
Arame guarded herself with her own energy field, and erupted her Ki with a yell. She focused it inwardly once more, quieting her power and going into an almost meditative state, even as she fought with everything she had.  
"This is all you can muster?" Vegeta yelled as he knocked her sideways.  
She sent a wave of Ki back at him, but he wasn't there. He was waiting for her across the way. She readied to meet his strike, but Goku slammed her out of left field.  
"If you don't break your limit, you know what'll happen!" Goku yelled to her. "Push higher!"  
Arame kept herself still. Her energy was pulsing. Inward push, outward flow, as though her Ki was breathing. It was a rhythmic sequence, and as she traded blows with these Super Saiyans, she pushed her limits time and again.  
Every time her energy flowed outward, there was more of it. She was growing in power each time, and the battle evolved.  
"IF I DIE, THEN I WAS NEVER WORTHY OF BIRTH!" She yelled in anger. Her Ki exploded again.  
She rushed Trunks, and for a moment, she was able to keep up with his strikes. But a joint attack from Goku and Gohan put an end to that. Arame went flying back, smoldering. Her orange gi was becoming blackened, it was shredded in more than a few places, and she was sporting plenty of cuts and bruises.   
Arame was bleeding from multiple wounds, but she refused to stay down. Saiyans have no limits! I will not die here!   
Vegeta readied his hands up high. "GALICK..."  
Goku and Goten readied Kamehamehas near him.  
Gohan raised his hands together. "MASENKO..."  
Trunks even readied his own version of Vegeta's Galick Gun.  
Arame planted her feet firmly into the ground and readied herself. She was beaten and exhausted, and as she compressed her energy once more, she knew that this was her last chance. Body, don't let me down!  
Five waves of Ki energy from various attacks all came flying at her at once. She caught them all, and the force was beyond intense.  
"THIS IS THE END OF THE LINE!" Vegeta yelled. "EITHER YOU BREAK YOUR LIMIT, OR YOU DIE!"  
Arame pushed as hard as she could against the onslaught of power. No matter how hard she pushed, it kept driving her back.  
At last, just as Arame was about to give out, her body responded.  
Her energy expanded outward and upward as it had before, and once more the wellspring of energy was felt. Sparking energy ran along her hands as she struggled, then down her torso, her legs, and back up again.  
Arame's hair began to spark as well. It flashed once, then again, and finally, with an almighty eruption of pure power...  
Arame the Super Saiyan was born.  
With a great heaving force, she pushed the energy skyward. The other Saiyans observed with careful scrutiny what was before them, because they'd never felt a Super Saiyan like this before.  
Though her hair was golden, Arame's aura was a mixture of white and gold. Her body was still sparking with electricity like an SSJ grade two, and she showed no emotion on her face. She looked up at them blankly.  
Then she observed her own body. Her face betrayed no emotion even then. Not even surprise, which took everyone by surprise.  
Suddenly, she vanished. Only to appear right in front of Trunks and send him crashing to the ground with a strike so fast it couldn't be followed.  
He looked up at her from below. She nodded at him.  
Then Arame looked at everyone else again. "Now it's a real fight."  
Though Trunks rejoined the battle, he and Goten were removed quite quickly. Though she was on the level of a grade one Super Saiyan, Arame was fighting with the power of a grade two. The stamina drain was lessened as well, and this was mainly due to Arame's unique style of transformation.  
Instead of an angry burst of power borne upon blinding rage, Arame had found her power through focusing her will and expanding her energy. In this way, she had found a more stable transformation. She was the equivalent of a Pure Super Saiyan. A more focused version of the original.   
Though genetics may have also had a role to play, as each Saiyan was unique in their own right.  
Goku and Vegeta both pushed themselves to Super Saiyan 2, but were still no match for Arame's power as she pushed herself higher still. And still she showed no emotion.  
Vegeta struggled against her strength. "What...power is this?"  
His face was pure anger.  
Hers was blank and expressionless. "I don't know," she said, her tone as stony as her face. "I can't force my anger, and my body responds faster than I expected."  
They un-clashed, and Vegeta rushed her again. This time, Arame was able to break through his guard and send him to the ground as well.  
Goku watched her and smirked. "You've done it. I didn't imagine that kind of power existed." He focused his own energy and forced himself to SSJ3. She was inwardly surprised to see his hair lengthen and his eyebrows vanish, but again she couldn't force her face to respond. It was almost as if she'd lost control of her bodies emotional responses.  
"Interesting," she said blankly. "You can push yourself even further beyond (*) the level of a normal Super Saiyan."   
They ran together in a powerful clash of energy. Interestingly enough, these two Saiyans were evenly matched, and the energy they were putting off was beyond incredible.  
Come on, Arame, she told herself. Crack a fucking smile! Why can't I move my damn face muscles except to talk?   
"I'm beyond impressed," Goku told her, his tone different. It was closer to her own in its blankness. "It seems you have a power similar to a Super Saiyan Three at your disposal, but you're only at a grade two now, aren't you?"  
"I'm uncertain," she replied. "I'm simply allowing my power to flow naturally, Kakarot."  
"Well then," said Goku. "Let's see how high you can go."   
Suddenly, the aura around Goku changed to red, and his energy signature vanished. His body flashed brightly, and when Arame could see him again he looked thinner and younger than before.  
Goku smiled. "This is a form called a Super Saiyan God. It channels the power of Divine Ki, which puts me leagues ahead of a mortal warrior. See if you can keep up with this."  
This time, Arame was being pushed back. The power of the Super Saiyan God was unreal, and it was fast. She was being hammered with such force that she felt her arms going numb.  
At last, Arame's guard was broken. Goku beat her down with everything he had and sent her to the ground.   
Arame rose as Goku was preparing a final Kamehameha as a finishing move.  
Time to give it one last push, Arame.  
She readied her hands in a familiar style. "Ka-me-ha-me...ha!" The blue energy burst forth from her hand in a great wave as Goku fired the same at her.   
The blasts met in the air as the two Saiyans struggled against one another.  
As she struggled, Arame suddenly found her composure weakening. She went slowly from a blank face to one that was twitching. Then her mouth cracked open in a grimace, her teeth bared. Her eyes sharpened, her brow lowered, and the angry Saiyan glare forced itself onto her countenance as she opened her mouth in a guttural roar.  
Suddenly, there was another flash of blue behind Goku's wave. The energy was intense and his beam became overwhelming. Arame barely had time to brace herself before its power blasted around her and glanced off the Earth's surface.  
Arame was still on her feet, but her legs were shaky. Suddenly, the golden glow left her body, and her muscles gave out.  
Goten came over to her and laughed. "That was intense, Arame. You did it!"  
Arame looked up at Goten and smiled. "Yeah..."   
Then she passed out.

-End of Part Seven-


	8. Part Eight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After crossing the Super Saiyan barrier, Arame takes a well deserved break. But Chronos is still silent...

Eleven: A Shopping Trip with Videl? Meeting with the World Champion!

 

"There's our new Super Saiyan!"  
"Stop it."  
"Congratulations are in order. How about a gold cake?"  
"Please, stop."  
Bulma stood up and crossed her arms. "Well, you're no fun."  
Arame looked up at her. "I'm exhausted, Mrs. Queen of Saiyans. I only just got enough energy back to resume normal functions."  
Bulma narrowed her eyes lazily. "Oh, I see how it is."  
"You should still celebrate somehow," said Trunks, who was sitting nearby. "Maybe try doing something that doesn't involve training?"  
Arame yawned. "Could do with a nap. That'd solve a lot of problems."  
Goku appeared at that moment, instant transmissioning in. "Hey, Arame! I heard you were still hanging around Capsule Corporation. How ya feelin'?"  
Arame had her head in her arms, resting on the table, eyes closed, snoring lightly.  
"She's going to be out for a while," Videl observed.  
"Yeah, that first time really takes a lot out of ya," Goku noted. "Still can't believe the power she has locked up inside of her. Who knows how strong she could get! I'm getting excited just thinking about it!"  
"Settle down, Goku," Bulma retorted. "It's not doing you a bit of good." She uncrossed her arms. "We're trying to think of a way Arame can celebrate that doesn't involve training or fighting. That's almost all she's done since she touched down here over a month ago."  
"Well, we are kinda trying to save the world," Goku told her.  
"Maybe so, but what about the Cell Games?"  
"What about 'em?"  
"Well, you and Gohan did your training in the Time Chamber," Bulma elaborated, "after Trunks and Vegeta did theirs. Now I know Vegeta spent a lot more time trying to make himself stronger afterward, but you and Gohan took time off. You have to enjoy life, you know? To remind yourself what you're fighting for." She looked at the sleeping Arame. "She doesn't even know what she's fighting for...except revenge. And there's more to it than that."  
Goku nodded. "I see your point, Bulma. Maybe I could take her fishing?"  
"Oh, please, Goku," replied Bulma. "You have more creativity than that."  
"No, it's actually a really nice little side hobby of mine," said Goku.  
"I was thinking more like a movie," said Bulma. "Isn't there a new Great Saiyaman movie debuting soon? Like the third one in the franchise?"  
Videl sighed. "Don't remind me. Between my dad and Gohan, I've about had it with stardom. I was hoping to get away from it with Pan for a little while tomorrow."  
"How so?" asked Bulma.  
"Oh, just some shopping and sightseeing in Hercule City."  
Bulma groaned. "I never get used to that. Why can't they just go back to the original name. East City sounds so much better." Then she perked up. "Oh, hey! You can take Arame shopping! I bet she's never done that before."  
Goku scratched his head. "Huh? Is that supposed to be fun?"  
"You wouldn't understand, Goku," Bulma told him. "You're not a woman."  
"I'm pretty sure Arame just needs a good workout," Goku replied.  
"That's your excuse and solution for everything! Maybe she does like training, but she could do with another hobby as well," said Bulma.  
Videl blinked. "I guess I could bring her along. She can help me keep Pan in line."  
They all looked back at Arame, who was still snoozing in her chair.

& & & &

Chronos could feel the power.   
His instrument of destruction was finally a Super Saiyan. Now she was ready.  
For his plan to work, he would need a lot of energy, and he was going to drain Arame of every last drop. He was still tethered to her after all. It would be a simple matter.  
But some things had to be put in order first.  
He checked his energy reserves. They were below the limit for a long trip, but soon enough he would have energy reserves for days. Weeks, even.  
The time was at hand.

& & & &

The next morning, Arame showered and dressed in a normal outfit for a change: jeans and a gray tee shirt. She was planning on taking the day off from stenuous training. Maybe she could help Bulma in her lab. Although she'd probably just get in her way.  
"Morning, Arame," Bulma said as she came down the hall. "Got any plans today?"  
"No," replied Arame. "After my Super Saiyan milestone, I figured I could take a break for a day."  
"That's the spirit," said Bulma. "Videl asked me to send you over toward Hercule City. She wants to take you shopping."  
Arame raised an eyebrow. "Shopping? What's that?"   
"Just go see Videl. She'll explain the rest."  
Arame left Capsule Corporation moments later, heading for Gohan and Videl's place far to the east. Even though she'd been to Hercule City before, she hadn't quite caught a feel for the place yet. Now that she had a moment to take it in, hovering over the city at six-thousand feet, she thought, whose face is plastered all over this place?  
He was everywhere, and his fluffed out hair and goatee (which evoked dormant memories of King Vegeta) really stood out against the norm.   
Despite the wondering, Arame shook her head and flew off toward Gohan and Videl's home near the outskirts of the city, which was a modest little mansion compared to some of the other opulent houses in the area.  
Arame landed in their front yard and looked up at the house again.  
Without warning, something tiny tackled her to the ground. "Arame!"  
Looking at her legs, Arame found that she'd been taken down by none other than Pan. The six-year-old had some serious power.  
Arame smiled at her. "Hey, Pan! You've got a lot of power, you know?"  
"Yes! I wanna fight like Grampa!"  
"Well, at this rate, you're gonna wallop him," Arame said cheerily.  
Videl poked her head out of a window nearby and called out to Arame. "Looks like someone's having fun!"  
"She can feel me coming with her sixth sense," said Arame. "I can't exactly hide from her."  
"I'm glad you came though," Videl went on. "I have an idea for the two of us."  
A little bit later, they were walking through downtown Hercule City. Arame still wasn't quite sure what Videl had roped her into either. She was carrying Pan in her arms.  
Also they had agreed that Arame should keep her tail inside of her pants to arouse less suspicion.  
"Videl, what are we doing exactly? What is shopping?"  
"We're going to go out and spend money on frivolous things for ourselves," Videl told Arame. "It's something girls do from time to time."  
"Sounds boring," Arame replied.   
"Mommy likes buying me new clothes!" Exclaimed Pan.  
"Oh, really?" Arame asked her cheerfully. "What else does mommy buy you? Maybe she can get you some training gear."  
Videl looked over at her. "Oh, I see how it is." She laughed. So did Arame and Pan. After a moment, Videl said, "You know, Arame...from what I've been told, most Saiyans were brutal, battle hungry, and sadistic. But you seem relaxed. Eager to fight, like Goku, but not obsessed and angry like Vegeta."  
Arame bounced Pan a bit, and she giggled in response. "Well, it's not like you're wrong. My brother...well, you saw what a piece of work he was. I'm not sorry for that, but he was already dead anyhow. My father wasn't much different, but my mother taught me something else when I was younger.  
"My mother Mizuna always told me that the greatest warriors would never be found among those eager for bloodshed. She said that most Saiyans weren't warriors, but battle hungry brutes obsessed with slaughter." She stopped bouncing Pan. "You see, most of the time, when Saiyans invaded a world, they just picked a powerful one and slaughtered the inhabitants without mercy. Usually in great ape form.  
"But for certain worlds, they sent Saiyan babies to slaughter weaker inhabitants." She paused for thought. "In truth, I'm actually glad most of my people are dead. I just wish more of the good ones survived. We probably could have become something better."  
Videl watched her for a moment. "Are you the last female Saiyan?"  
Arame sighed. "I think I am. I mean it's not terrible. Female Saiyans are just as tough as the men."  
"Tougher, I'd guess."  
"You're probably right." She looked up as they passed under a huge electronic billboard. Once again, that face was flashing before her. "Hey, Videl...whose face is this plastered all over this city?"  
Videl looked at her, her expression bemused. "Oh...that's my dad. He goes by Mister Satan to most people, but his name is Hercule. He's the 'world martial arts champion'."  
"Wow...so he's really strong?"  
"Well..." Videl scratched her chin. "Not particularly. Keep it between us, okay? He claims he defeated Cell years ago, even though it was really Gohan."  
Arame thought for a second. "Oh, right...didn't Cell eat people? Or was that Majin Buu?"  
Videl shuddered. "I don't like talking about Buu from that time."  
"He ate you, huh?"  
"Yeesh," said Videl. "Knock it off, Arame."  
"I'm just teasing." Arame got serious again. "So Gohan beat Cell and your dad took the credit? Why?"  
Videl sighed. "At the time, he wanted to keep up his World Savior status. Now I think he just wants to keep people off our friends' backs. Helping to keep the whole alien thing under wraps. But he still thinks primarily of himself."  
"Is the idea so strange to humans?" Arame asked. "You have giant lizards flying around your planet's mountains and your king is a dog."   
"Well, I can't really answer that question," Videl told her. "The first time I found out about this stuff I was floored. When you're at death's door and a tiny bean brings you back to life with all your energy restored, it changes your perspective on a lot of things."  
"Sounds fair to me."  
"By the way, how did you and Gohan meet in the first place?" asked Arame.  
Videl looked her way again. "Oh, uh...we went to high school together." She thought back. "He showed up to the city for his first day of school and went Super Saiyan to stop a group of robbers. That got my attention, so eventually he started playing dress up to hide his identity. That was the birth of the Great Saiyaman.   
"The only thing...he wasn't very good at hiding his identity, so I was still able to figure things out. I forced him to enter the World Martial Arts Tournament...the twenty-fifth, right before Majin Buu attacked. We never got to finish that tournament, but my dad still managed to win it. They put it all on a battle royale between every remaining fighter in the tournament."   
Arame blinked. "Wow...okay then."  
Videl glanced to her left and found a fragrance shop. Oh, perfect! "Arame, we're going in here!"  
"Here?" Arame looked up. "It looks really colorful."  
"You'll love it."  
Some time later...  
"This is amazing," Arame said as she sniffed her fifteenth perfume sample. "I didn't think this many smells could even exist, Videl."  
"What'd I tell you?"  
"Hi, Videl!"  
They turned to see a woman with blonde hair waving at them.  
"Oh, hi Rika," Videl replied.  
"It's been a while since I last saw you," said Rika. She looked at Arame. "Ohhh, who's your hot looking friend?"  
Arame blinked. Hot? What the heck does that mean?  
"This is Arame," Videl remarked. "Arame, this is my friend Rika. We've known each other since...well, for a few years now."  
"We met at that Capsule Corporation gala a few years ago," Rika reminded Videl. Then she looked to Arame and said, "You look so tough and angry. And those are some solid muscles."  
Arame blushed. "Um...thanks?"  
"Are you training for the World Tournament in a couple of months?" Rika went on.  
"The what?"  
"It's normally an annual thing," said Rika. "The greatest martial artists gather from around the world to compete in a grand tournament to decide who gets to take on the great hero Mister Satan himself! Some call it the Tenka'ichi Budokai...others call it the World Martial Arts Tournament, or the Strongest Under the Heavens Tournament." She paused. "You look like you'd be a solid fighter."  
Arame raised her eyebrows a bit. "Oh, certainly. I'm the very definition of a warrior."  
Rika's eyes looked a bit different suddenly, and they were tilted slightly downward. It was then that Videl grabbed Arame's shoulder.  
"Well, we don't want to take up too much time, Rika," Videl cut in. "We're just heading off to see my dad. He wanted to talk to me and Arame's tagging along."  
"I am?" Arame asked.  
Videl started pushing her out of the store. She leaned into Arame's ear and hissed, "Your tail is out."  
Sure enough, her tail had been worming its way out of her pants for some time and was now free of its denim prison. "Oh...I didn't feel it."  
"Apparently not."  
Arame hastily stuffed her furry limb back into her jeans. "I really think you're overblowing this whole thing."  
"The way Rika was looking at you had me nervous, okay?"  
"I want to bring up the dog king again."  
Videl narrowed her eyes. "You hungry?"  
Arame's face lit up in a huge open mouth grin.

& & & &

"Oh yeah," Arame moaned with her mouth full. "This is beyond delicious!" She swallowed and ravenously dug into another plate of food. A number of the patrons were watching her with mixed expressions.  
Even Pan looked impressed.  
Videl looked at the other seven plates the Saiyan girl had just liberated of their contents. "You are just like Goku."  
Arame sighed. "Kakarot's a bit excessive with his eating habits. I, on the other hand, have a refined palette."  
"You fork down more food in a minute than I could eat in three days," Videl replied.   
Arame watched her. "What's your point?"  
"Nothing," said Videl. "So...I need to go talk to my dad later on today. Feel like tagging along after we do some real shopping?"  
"Sure," Arame said. "Never met a world champion before."  
"Yay!" Exclaimed Pan. "I get to see Grampa!"  
After the food, Videl took Arame to a few clothing outlets, jewelry stores, and shoe parlors. At first, Arame thought it was strange. But as they drifted from shop to shop, she gradually found herself falling in love with some of the gaudiest, most extravagant, or most ludicrously priced items she could see.  
By the time they were heading out to meet the world champion, Arame had swapped her jeans and shirt for a silver blouse and a pair of white slacks with a nice set of black pumps to boot. A new silver chain necklace finished the ensemble.  
"You look great, Arame," Videl noted. "You look better styled out like that."  
Arame looked herself over again. "It's not bad. Wouldn't mind wearing it every once in a while, but it wouldn't work well in a fight."  
"You won't always be fighting," Videl said. "Here on Earth, we like our peaceful existences as much as we love our action."  
"I can get behind that," replied Arame. She looked up at the great mansion before them. "Is this the place?"  
"Yeah," said Videl.   
They got through security with ease after Videl vouched for Arame, and the three of them proceeded into the foyer. Arame took a moment to drink in the opulent furnishings, and the busts, statues, and paintings of this 'Hercule' guy.   
"Your dad might have a bigger ego than Vegeta," Arame said.  
Videl laughed. "Let's head to the den off to the side here."  
Within that den, Arame saw a large pink blob on one of the sofas. She watched it for a second. "What's that pink stuff? A pillow?"  
Then it moved. A head poked up and it said, "Videl! Who this?"  
"Oh, this is my new Saiyan friend, Arame," Videl said.  
It looked at Arame for a bit. "Buu not seen girl Saiyan before."  
Arame cocked her head. "Buu?"  
"This is what's left of Majin Buu," said Videl. "He's not evil anymore. Mostly thanks to my dad and Goku."  
Arame looked from her to Majin Buu. "Oh, I see...it's nice to meet you, Buu."  
"You seem nice," said Buu. "Buu like you." He looked up. "HERCULE!"  
They heard a slamming door and several loud footsteps, and then Hercule rushed into the room. Arame got a look at the world champion for the first time.  
He was fairly tall, and was well into middle age. His bushy hair was beginning to recede and his hair color was going gray. He wore a red and white gi and a cape, for some reason.  
"What's up, Buu?" He asked, his voice gruff and commanding, yet still innocent sounding somehow. But not as innocent as Buu's high pitched tone.  
"Videl came and brought a friend," Buu said, pointing.  
"Grampa!" Pan literally flew into Hercule, taking him to the ground. He yelled in surprise.  
"Ah, Pan!" said Hercule. "It's good to see you and all, but maybe take it easy on your old gramps, huh?" He got up as Pan backed off a bit. "Videl, it's good seein' you again."  
"Hey, dad," replied Videl. "I was out and about with Pan and my new friend and thought I'd drop by."  
Hercule looked up at Arame. "Oh!" He took on a more proud look, almost like a pose. "You're a friend of my daughter's huh? Well, you should know who I am, so I don't think an introduction is necessary."   
"Your Hercule, right?" said Arame. "World champion martial artist?"  
"The one and only!" Hercule said with a deep laugh. "So who might you be then?"  
"Arame's a Saiyan!" Pan exclaimed. "She's like grampa Goku!"  
Hercule looked at her for a moment, then he laughed again. "That's a good one, Pan! I knew you'd inherit your old grandpa's sense of humor!" He laughed again.  
Arame smirked and slowly worked her tail out of her new pants, but she kept it behind her. "What's a Saiyan, exactly?"  
"Oh, never you mind that," said Hercule. "Pan's just talking nonsense."  
"Really? It wasn't a Saiyan that defeated Cell?"  
Hercule looked a little agitated. "I don't know where you heard that. Anyone would tell you it was me that took down that oversized bug!"  
Videl glanced over and saw Arame's tail out. She then looked back at her dad and said, "No need to defend yourself there, dad. Arame is a Saiyan."  
Arame let her tail drift down to the left, slowly coming into view. She had her arms crossed and was still wearing her smirk.   
Hercule blanched. "Uh...what I meant was...I helped Gohan take Cell down! I just didn't want anyone to give him too much trouble, ya know? Cause he was just a kid back then!" Hercule laughed again.  
"Don't worry about it, Hercule," said Arame. "I'm just messing with you. Your secret's safe with me. Besides, I heard you did help save the world from Majin Buu's evil form. That makes you a hero for sure."  
Hercule posed again. "Yeah! Goku and Vegeta wouldn't have made it without my help. But don't tell Vegeta that, 'cause he scares the crap outta me."  
"No worries there either," Arame replied. "He scares me too."  
"Well, think we can just sit and have a nice chat, dad?" Videl said. "Arame's thinking about entering the World Tournament this year."  
Hercule nodded. "Yeah, that's right. I do have something I should tell you, Videl." They sat down. Buu and Pan were playing some distance away.  
"What's up, dad?" Videl asked.  
"These past few years have got me thinking," said Hercule. "I'm not really the strongest in the world at all. Not only that, but I'm getting a bit older and it's about time I hang up the cape. So this year, I'm not gonna participate in the tournament. Special rules go into place this time. I'm going to name the winner my successor. Whoever it happens to be."  
Videl started in surprise." What? You're serious?"  
"You bet I am," Hercule replied. "If Arame here's tough enough, then she might be able to take my title and the prize money with it."  
Arame was a little less surprised. "Well, that wasn't the conversation I expected to have."  
"Me neither," Videl added.  
"It's a matter of...personal honor too, I guess," said Hercule. "It might be a better fit for someone like Goku. Or maybe Gohan."  
Videl blinked. "Wow...I'll make sure to let him know."  
Hercule paused. "Well, if you're gonna be here a while, we might as well get drinks, right?"

& & & &

Dende stared into the sky for a long moment. "Do you feel that?"  
"I do," replied Mr. Popo, who was right next to him. "It's an ominous feeling."  
"Chronos must be getting ready for something."  
Piccolo stepped up from somewhere nearby. "I've been doing some thinking. It's possible that Arame is meant to be Chronos's weapon, and that's why he's been attacking us piecemeal with weaker opponents. To test her abilities." He grunted. "And now that she's crossed the Super Saiyan barrier, he might be getting ready to utilize her."  
"What are you saying then, Piccolo?" asked Dende.  
"I'm saying that if Chronos attacks again, it might be wise to keep Arame away from him," Piccolo replied. "If the worst comes to pass, Arame may be too strong for us to handle."  
"That's a scary thought."  
Meanwhile, at Capsue Corporation, Bulma's instruments were going haywire. The time stream waas being sundered again.  
Above the Earth, Chronos looked out of his ship at the blue planet and smiled venomously. "The time has come."  
He chuckled menacingly.

-End of Part Eight-


	9. Part Nine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Is Arame a trained monkey? Or is she the master of her own destiny?

Twelve: The Z-Fighters versus Arame! The Time-Keeper's Dark Plan Realized!

The attack came without warning in the middle of the night. South City was bombarded from above by a horde of soldiers bearing the hourglass mark of Chronos. Within minutes, the city was burning and thousands were dead. By the time Piccolo arrived, there was no one left the save.  
He surveyed the devastation with a calm resolve. "Too late...dammit. Where are Chronos's soldiers?" He flew northward, following the power signatures.  
Meanwhile, King Kai got in touch with Goku, who was sound asleep.   
"Goku! Get up! Chronos has attacked South City!"  
Goku roused himself groggily. "He did what?"  
"It was total devastation from his men! There were no survivors!"  
"WHAT?"

& & & &

Everyone was gathering for this.  
Vegeta and Goku arrived first, joining Piccolo in the fields north of South City, which was still glowing on the horizon as it burned in the night.   
Shortly after the two Saiyans touched down, Krillin arrived. Then came Goten and Gohan, and even Videl showed up. They found a host of soldiers waiting for them high above, looking ready for a fight.   
Goku pulled a bag of Senzu beans from his belt and tossed it to Krillin. "I went to Korin's yesterday and grabbed as many Senzu beans as I could, Krillin. We have three."  
"Well, let's hope we don't need 'em," Krillin replied, tying them to the belt of his gi, "but I'm not holding my breath."  
One of the soldiers descended until he was only two meters from the gathered Z-fighters. "So you've all come to visit us. I was beginning to think we might have picked a bad target."  
"You're gonna pay for that! Lives aren't something you just destroy!" yelled Krillin.  
"Oh, but fear not," said the soldier. "When our master Chronos is through, this planet will never have existed in the first place. It is his only recourse left, you see."  
"That's not possible," Piccolo said.  
"A Time Keeper has power beyond any god," was the reply. "You see, if he so chooses, he can erase beings, planets, or even timelines from existence. But this requires a lot of energy. He must channel his natural power through conduits of gathered energy, and he's amassed quite a bit from all of you so far. But still not enough." He ascended again. "So we've called you all here, to give us more of what we need. But your contributions are tiny. The sweet teat of Arame's power is where we'll find the most energy. Her tether to the Time Keeper allows him to drain her directly, you see. But it's all very complicated."  
"I knew it," Piccolo grunted.  
"Looks like your intuition was right, Piccolo," Goku said. "It was tough making sure your plan went off without a hitch though."  
The soldier above them belted out. "Show yourself already, Arame! ARAME!"  
"Scream all you want," Vegeta roared back. "She's not here! We figured your plan involved her being in close proximity to these fights, so we left her behind."  
"She wasn't happy about it, but she understood the need," said Piccolo. "You'll have to deal with us instead." The gathered warriors powered their Ki. "And you'll find that we're no pushovers."  
The soldiers above grimaced in disgust. "So that's your game? These earthlings are more clever than I imagined."  
Piccolo tossed his turban and cape aside. Then everyone rushed up to meet the soldiers, yelling in unison.  
Chronos's soldiers braced themselves as they clashed with the force of cracking thunder.  
Vegeta slammed into one of the soldiers and sent him flying, following up by engaging another two. They braced against his attacks and traded a few blows, surprisingly managing to hold their own.  
Gohan and Videl doubled up against one of the soldiers. Videl was back to her short, spiky hair style and sported a gray gi, while Gohan was rocking his dad's traditional orange and blue look.  
Videl rushed him from below and sent him flying up with a kick. Gohan hammered him with a few punches and sent him soaring into the ground. They rushed after his descent, the soldier roaring the whole time.  
Piccolo sped by in their wake, engaging two of the soldiers at the same time. Flourishes from his extended arms and a barrage of kicks and Ki blasts made quick work of their defenses, but more soldiers appeared to take their places.  
"The more the merrier," Piccolo growled. He gathered Ki in his hands near his chest. "I forgot how fun this is. LIGHT GRENADE!"  
The Ki blast burst forward and took one of the soldiers by surprise, obliterating him. The other was in shock. Piccolo readied himself again. "Seems I missed one." He rushed at him.  
Across the way, there was a mighty roar as Goku sent his energy levels skyrocketing. He sent one soldier crashing into a plateau with a powered kick. Another soldier grabbed him from behind while a second rushed his fist into Goku's abdomen.  
Goku flipped his body over and the second punch connected with the gut of the soldier who was holding him.  
"You asshole!" Yelled the hit soldier.  
"You let him move!" Yelled the one doing the hitting.  
Goku broke out of the grip of that soldier, tucked into a flip, and slammed his feet into him which sent him crashing to the ground. Goku then grabbed the other one and drove his elbow into the being's gut. He followed up by tossing the soldier up and kicking him away.  
"Goku!" Krillin yelled. "Comin' your way!" He had kicked a soldier right at Goku, who promptly stopped him by suddenly thrusting his fist out. It connected with the target's face, and he stopped dead. He fell to earth a moment later.  
Three more soldiers of Chronos appeared from somewhere below. Krillin and Goku readied themselves for combat again. "There's a lot of these guys."  
"Yeah, and they're unpredictable," replied Goku. "Kinda fun, isn't it?"  
"It is fun when I'm not totally outclassed," Krillin said with a laugh.  
One of the three soldiers stepped forward. This one was a blue-skinned woman with dark, tendril like hair and two sharp yellow eyes.   
"It would seem we underestimated your tenacity," she said. "But Hazara does not back down in the face of overwhelming odds." Her skin changed color from blue to red, slowly but steadily, and she began putting off a strange heat. "Hazara is ready, Earth warriors!"  
"Then let's do this!" yelled Krillin.  
The alien called Hazara rushed up to meet them and slammed Krillin with everything she had. She kicked his guard a few times before flipping over to Goku and trading blows with him. Back and forth she went, flipping, punching, and kicking all the while.   
Meanwhile, Goku and Krillin became aware of a trilling noise on the edge of their hearing. And it continued to get louder as she moved and fought.  
She broke through Krillin's guard at last and kicked him upward with a twirl, though Goku saw his opportunity there and sent her sprawling with her own kick. She right herself.   
The trilling stabilized for a moment.  
"What the heck is that noise?" Goku asked.  
"That is Hazara's secret," replied Hazara. She rushed Goku and attempted to break his guard, but he was a tougher nut to crack than Krillin.  
"You're not a bad fighter," said Goku. "It's a shame you're rotten to the core."  
"Hazara has studied you, Saiyan," said Hazara. "Your battle lust is legendary. But you have limits and weaknesses too."  
"Yeah, I know," Goku replied. "It's always good to discover new weaknesses so you learn how to counter them."  
"Then allow Hazara to show you a new one." She surprised Goku with a quick rush from below. She twirled again, and kicked him away.  
The trilling had been continuing throughout this, and now it was reaching a fever pitch. Hazara looked like she was beginning to gather energy, but what she unleashed wasn't a Ki burst. The trilling rose to an incredible volume, and then kept rising until the sound waves were exploding around them. It was a high pitched keening that found its way into everyone's ears, and the sound was so powerful they were paralyzed. Piccolo was especially sensitive.  
She uses sound waves! thought Krillin as he looked back up at her.  
Hazara smiled wickedly. She became a living conduit of sound, like the furious wail of ten million bats raised to a volume that could likely be heard for dozens of miles.  
But Chronos's soldiers were unaffected.   
One of the other soldiers rushed Krillin and sent him sprawling away, while the other hammered into Goku. Meanwhile, the other Z-fighters were being beaten back as well.   
Krillin looked up at the soldier. How is he not affected? Even then, the soldier tilted just a bit and Krillin saw something in his ear. That's it? Are they earplugs?  
The soldier rushed Krillin again.   
Krillin brought his hands up to his forehead and shut his eyes. "SOLAR FLARE!"  
There was a blinding flash, and the soldier was dazed. It was long enough for Krillin to blast him with a Kamehameha wave that went right through him, killing him instantly.  
The effort required while under the effect of those sound waves was incredible, and Krillin could feel his ears beginning to bleed. She's gonna blow our brains with soundwaves if we don't stop that noise!  
With all the effort he could muster, he pulled the plugs from the ears of the now dead soldier and put them in his own ears.  
The silence was immediate.  
"They work," he said. Oddly, he could hear his own voice. In fact, the only sound these things seemed to be dampening were the sounds being emitted by Hazara, high above him. Must be the frequency, he thought.  
Krillin rushed up and slammed into Hazara with everything he had. The trilling dropped several decibels, but continued. "What?" She yelled. "Impossible! Hazara's frequency should have you struggling to focus your mind."  
He chuckled and showed her the plugs in his ears.  
Hazara growled in anger. "Very well, earthling. Show me your technique."  
Krilllin and Hazara met with a storm of strikes. Both warriors hammered at each other with everything they had, but neither gave ground. At least not until Krillin noticed that she wasn't protecting her left side as well as her right. Her defense there was rather sloppy.   
Krillin exploited this with a hard kick, which caught her by complete surprise as he'd feinted a strike toward the lower right. He rushed her with as many strikes as he could while her guard was down and finished his assault with the most powerful palm strike he could muster.  
Raising his right hand, Krillin readied his Kienzan. With a yell, he unleashed it right at Hazara's midsection.  
She narrowly managed to dodge it.  
"You should work on your aim!" She called breathlessly.  
"Dammit!" Krillin cursed, bringing his hand toward his body and curling it in a fist. He focused on Hazara, but on the edge of his sight he saw his Kienzan as it reversed course and came soaring back at her.  
Hazara felt it coming right before it struck, but she couldn't dodge it as cleanly this time. It severed her left leg at the hip. She screamed in pain.  
To finish her off, Krillin readied a Kamehameha, which he unleashed with devastating ferocity. It went right through Hazara, ending her in a flash.  
The noise finally subsided as what was left of her fell to the plateau below.  
There was a roar of fury from elsewhere as Goku pushed away his attacker sent him flying several miles away.  
The fighting resumed, but Chronos's soldiers were much more reserved now, having lost one of their better warriors.  
Krillin pulled the plugs from his ears and regarded them for a second before letting them fall to earth as well. "Last thing I need today is ringing ears."  
Suddenly, the fighting all came to a stop as a cracking noise was heard high above. There was a flash of light accompanying it, and Chronos appeared.   
This was the first time the Z-fighters had gotten a look at the being known as the Time Keeper, and he was nowhere near as menacing as some of them had made him out to be. Long white hair and silver skin with a pair of iridescent red eyes and a long robe bearing the mark of the gothic hourglass.  
"The energy readings are nowhere near the levels they should be," said Chronos. "Arame is not here. Where is she?"  
"We figured out your plan," Piccolo called to him. "You won't be using her so easily."  
Chronos smirked. "You're merely delaying the inevitable, you understand? I have a direct tether to her and I can find her at my leisure. Wherever you think she's hidden, it won't be for long."  
"And what makes you think we'll let you leave?"  
"I never said I would be going for her," said Chronos. "Merely that I know where she is located. Tekuja!"  
A soldier appeared right out of thin air next to Chronos. The Z-fighters were all stunned. Tekuja was a Yardrat.  
"Yes, Lord Chronos?" Tekuja asked.  
"You've studied the reports?"  
"I have."  
"Then go."  
Tekuja vanished with Instant Transmission.  
Chronos surveyed them all. "You are all becoming nuisances. You refuse to accept defeat even when it's staring you right in the face."  
"We're stubborn like that," said Trunks.  
"I suppose I should be grateful," Chronos replied. "I might actually be forced to exert myself. I wonder if my skills have gotten rusty." His body flashed a brilliant orange for a moment, and everything slowed down around them. The Z-fighters and Chronos's soldiers suddenly found it difficult to move.  
"Above average exertion of will," Chronos noted. "Time manipulation of this scale is usually conservative, but your power levels are forcing me to use more energy. One-point-seven-seven units at a rate of moderate output." The power lessened, allowing them all to move again, but Chronos kept up enough power to protect the area around himself with a time ward.  
Tekuja Instant Transmissioned back in. He was bruised and bloodied, and he was holding Arame in his grasp, with one hand firmly gripping her tail. She was only clad in a lacy set of underwear that she'd bought the other day with Videl on their shopping trip. Arame discovered that she had a fondness for cute things. Which was probably why she'd latched onto Pan...who was currently latched onto Arame's leg.  
"The runt on her leg knows how to fight," Tekuja growled.  
Chronos reached down and grabbed Pan, pulling her from Arame's leg. Pan shrieked in surprise and fear.   
"Chronos!" Arame yelled warningly.  
"Pan!" Gohan and Videl yelled from below.  
Chronos hurled Pan away. Goku rushed out and caught her, and Arame finally broke Tekuja's grip.   
With a roar of fury, she slammed her elbow into his face, literally breaking it, crushing his skull and killing him instantly.   
And he fell to the ground below like many others before him.  
Arame's eyes blazed with anger. "You have some brass balls, Time Keeper."  
"Why play these games, Arame?" Chronos asked her. "You know it's futile to keep resisting me like this. The stability of the universe is at stake here."  
"That's a poor excuse to justify erasing existences," Arame retorted. "You want my energy? You'll have to drain it from me by force."  
Chronos sighed. "I see that there is no other alternative."  
Arame rushed at him with incredible speed, but with another flash of energy she was frozen above him and to the left, her leg centimeters from his head.  
"I'm weary of this posturing from you," said Chronos lazily. "I will have your pure battle power soon enough. But for it to be enough energy, I need you to give me everything you've got."  
"And...what makes you...think I'll give it to you?"  
"Oh, you won't," Chronos replied. "As you said, I must take what I want." He lashed out and grabbed Arame around her throat with his arm. "You see, this was my intention all along. You were always a tool! A weapon! I've been wiring your brain since the moment I found your little pod flying through space!"   
Chronos raised his hand, and a ball of Ki energy began forming above his palm. "Now those commands will come to fruition. You will be a slave to your Saiyan instincts, you will build your power to uncontrollable levels, and then you will be no more! And as your energy finally consumes your body and atomizes your being, your raw energy will be released and given to me, where it will power my instruments to levels they haven't achieved in millennia. And then Earth will cease to have ever existed."  
He launched the energy into the air where it burst in a brilliant flash, forming an artificial moon. "All I need from you is that primal severing of control that only a Great Ape form can bring!"  
Arame had her eyes shut. "NO! I won't!"  
"You have no choice!" Chronos sent a jolt of electricity into her body.   
Arame's eyes were forced open, and she got an eyeful of light.  
Against her better judgment, she found herself transfixed. Arame's eyes went pure white, and then became red. Her body began to pulse, and then slowly began expanding, shredding the minimal clothing she had on. Hair formed all along her body and her teeth sharpened as well, becoming almost fang-like.  
Even as she yelled in pain, her voice became more and more guttural.  
Chronos backed away, floating up some distance with a wry smile on his face. "I leave you to your new friend, Earth warriors. Courtesy of my modifications to her biology, her Great Ape form has multiplied her power, not by ten...but by twenty." He laughed. "Have fun with that."  
Great Ape Arame roared.  
The Z-fighters readied themselves for combat.

"Videl, you need to look after, Pan," Gohan said. "Arame's beyond you at this point."  
"I don't like any of this," Videl replied. "You don't have to kill her do you?"  
Gohan looked out at the Great Ape. Vegeta and Goku were already out there in Super Saiyan form, but she was pushing them back regardless.  
"I hope not," Gohan said.  
"Arame's not evil!" Pan yelled.   
Gohan flew upward. Then, with an exertion of will, he went to Super Saiyan level and charged in to join the fight.  
"I don't like the look of this," said Krillin. "Our track record with Great Apes hasn't been...well, great."  
"Keep your head on straight Krillin," Piccolo told him. "Her power's still growing, don't you feel it?"  
"We need to cut off her tail!"  
"Beerus couldn't get rid of it with divine power," said Piccolo. "But if you think you can do it, be my guest."  
Goku rushed in with a mighty yell, and though he managed to dodge Arame's arms, he wasn't able get in close enough as she pushed him back with an eruption of Ki energy.  
Vegeta slammed her from behind with a powerful enough kick to make her stagger. He was already at Super Saiyan Two. Arame turned quickly and fired a Ki blast from her mouth that struck Vegeta plainly, sending him flying with a yell of frustration.  
Piccolo and Krillin both grabbed Arame's tail and pulled her off her feet. She turned and swung her arm. It hit Krillin hard and sent him flying into a mountain.  
Goten and Trunks both exchanged a look. "I think we need a fusion."  
"You're right, Goten," said Trunks. "We need to end this quickly if we want to save her."  
They found a plateau and took up their usual positions, went Super Saiyan, leveled their energy, and performed the fusion dance. A moment later, Gotenks rushed into the fight, but he kept his energy at the Super Saiyan two level to keep the fusion stable for longer.  
"Here we go!" Gotenks yelled. He thrust out his hands and a large ring of Ki energy encircled Great Ape Arame. "Don't make us do this, Arame!"  
Arame roared in response, struggling against the Ki. Gotenks exerted his force and the Ki erupted in a burning explosion.  
Even though Great Ape Arame felt the damage, her power kept rising.   
"She's still getting stronger!" Piccolo yelled. "We don't have a lot of time!"  
Arame roared again and Ki blasts erupted from her body in a torrential rain, creating craters as they exploded across the valley and around the plateaus. The Z-fighters did their best to dodge the blasts, but they still felt the force of the impacts.  
Gohan took one directly though, and ended up in a smoking crater.  
Piccolo rushed over to him with Krillin close behind.  
"Krillin..." gasped Gohan. "Sen...zu bean..."  
Krillin put the requested bean in Gohan's mouth. In a few seconds, he was back on his feet, but Arame was still a major threat.  
She was still there, deep in her own mind, trapped in a prison of rage and fear. She struggled against the forces that held her, but they were too powerful. Chronos, or a form of him, floated in front of her. He looked remorseful, but it may have been Arame's imagination.  
"I hate that it must come to this, Arame," said Chronos. "I'm not the villain here. I just want the universe to be stable. If left unchecked, the extreme power that these individuals exert, coupled with the damage to the timestream that was caused by their own science, could create unforeseen consequences in the future. Worlds that may not be created, species that may never exist, or species that may even go extinct."  
Arame struggled again, but still to no avail. "Just because you're sorry, it doesn't make you any less evil."  
"How would you know what evil is?"  
"I'm a Saiyan!" She angrily retorted. "Evil was the birthright of most of my people."  
Chronos smirked. "And so you understand why your people were driven to near extinction; why you should have all become extinct decades ago. Your people are a brutish race, and your potential is unlimited. With your power, you are capable of destroying planets, systems, even whole galaxies." He leaned in close to her. "That kind of power is unnatural and untamable."  
Arame growled.  
"Just look," he went on, "at what you're doing to your 'friends'."  
She got an image flash from her Great Ape eyes. She was devastating the field, and only Goku and Vegeta were still standing against her. Trunks, Piccolo, and Gohan were unconscious. Krillin and Goten were off to the side on another plateau, and the two Saiyans were both in their blue forms and apparently at their limit.  
"You see what you have wrought?" Chronos asked. "Now you will destroy them and then their planet will be forever erased. It's existence not even a memory, it's impact forgotten, as if Earth were never created at all." He paused for effect. "Even the Kais will forget."  
Arame felt the weight of his words hit her at last. Her will was nearly broken. She couldn't resist this power, and in fact she had helped further this agenda.   
She thought back to the other battles she'd endured. That short scrap with Raditz...Zarbon and Dodoria...the training with Gohan, Kakarot, and Vegeta...and her battle with her own brother Kyukon. They were nothing but warm ups to the main event. They were only meant to test her abilities and determine if she was ready to become the weapon Chronos had always intended she become.  
I played right into his scheme, she thought. My mother was wrong about me then. A real warrior would have seen this coming. I thought I knew when to fight and when to back down...but my Saiyan instinct got the better of me. I wanted to fight. I was itching for a fight! My blood demanded it. And that's just what Chronos expected.

Meanwhile, Goku and Vegeta were at their absolute limit.  
"Hey Vegeta," said Goku. "I think our last option is a fusion."  
"That stupid dance? Forget it!" Vegeta steeled himself. He had been just as battered by Arame as Goku had been, but they were still in this fight. At least they were for the moment.  
Great Ape Arame stared them down from some distance away.  
"You see the futility of your struggle, Saiyans of Earth?" Chronos said from high above. "Your fellow Saiyan is under my command. It is easy to gain control of the power of a Saiyan whose will has been broken."  
Vegeta looked up at him, and then glared at Arame. His face melted into pure rage and he yelled, "ARAME! I KNOW YOU CAN HEAR ME, RUNT!"  
Arame's eyes snapped open. She did hear Vegeta's voice. And the word 'runt' certainly caught her ear.  
"WHERE'S YOUR SAIYAN PRIDE, GIRL?" Vegeta went on. "ARE YOU SOME DOG TO BE LEASHED? A TRAINED MONKEY ORDERED TO DANCE? YOU CAN BREAK HIS HOLD ON YOU! I TOLD YOU I DON'T TOLERATE FAILURES! AND RIGHT NOW, YOU'RE SCREAMING 'FAILURE' AT ME!" He paused. "Are you weak like your brother and father always said you were, or are you a Saiyan warrior like I trained you to be? SHOW ME!"  
Arame's blood stirred again. She started struggling against the bonds that held her once more. This time, she didn't let up. The more they resisted her, the more force she exerted. She yelled in rage, and her mind responded.  
Chronos's form began to dissipate, which surprised him. "Impossible," he muttered.  
Arame screamed in fury, and her Great Ape form did the same.  
"Get. Out. Of. My. Head!" Great Ape Arame growled in her guttural voice. "CHRONOS!"  
"You will not break my hold!" Chronos yelled.  
"Keep fighting, Arame!" Yelled Goku. "Everyone's lives depend on it! Show us your warrior spirit!"  
Across the valley, they heard a yell. At the top of her lungs, Pan was crying out. One word.   
Arame.  
Great Ape Arame froze, her hands clutching her head. Suddenly, she exerted everything she had.  
Arame roared in rage, sadness, frustration, and felt every emotion explode at the surface. In that moment, Chronos's special hold on Arame was severed. Her power stopped growing, and Great Ape Arame turned her eyes upward.  
"Chronos!" She said, her guttural voice echoing around the valley. "I'm through making threats at you. It's long overdue for me to put my words into action."  
"It isn't possible," Chronos gasped.  
"You call Saiyans brutish warriors," Arame replied. "You say we're weak willed, mindless weapons, but you made two fatal mistakes. First, you have insulted my pride, and a Saiyan never forgets their pride! Second, you underestimated my power." She bared her fangs. "Never underestimate a Saiyan's power!"  
Arame unleashed a massive wave of Ki from her hands that struck a surprised Chronos full on.  
"Alright, she did it!" Goku exclaimed.  
"Kakarot, Vegeta," Arame yelled out. "Why don't we hit this bastard with everything we've got!"  
"Sounds good to me!" Yelled Goku.  
"It's about time you came around!" Vegeta added. "Galick GUN!" He fired his Ki wave.  
Goku launched his Kamehameha as well.  
Those waves joined with Arame's and Chronos was engulfed in such energy that for a moment his own power vanished.  
Yet when all was said and done he was still there.  
He looked like he'd taken some serious damage, and for the first time he actually looked angry. "You," he growled at Arame, "you resist me? I command a power greater than the gods! I maintain order in this universe! You cannot resist me, you filthy Saiyan!"  
"I just did, bitch!" Arame yelled back.  
Chronos hissed. "Power core is drained too low. You may survive for now, Arame...but you're only delaying the inevitable." Chronos reached out his hand toward Arame and said, "Severing link."  
Suddenly, Great Ape Arame launched herself at Chronos, but at the same time she was struck by a spasm. It was as though another jolt of electricity had coursed through her. With another burst of energy, Chronos sent her crashing to the ground.  
There, at last, she began to shrink back to normal.  
Krillin and Goten were standing with Videl and Pan now. Videl showed her determined face as she looked at Krillin and said, "Krillin, Senzu bean, now!"  
"Uh, okay?" Krillin said. "What for?"  
"Arame," Videl replied. "Keep an eye on Pan for me." She took the bean and flew off.   
Yet as she did, the soldiers of Chronos appeared again. Two of them attempted to corner her.  
"Get out of my way!" Videl yelled.  
One of the soldiers rushed her. Videl dodged his attempted strike and kicked him away while the other attacked her with a flurry of punches. Videl ducked it and slammed him in the gut with her own fist, followed by a barrage of kicks that sent him sailing into a rock.  
After that, Videl was moving. "Come on, Arame," she muttered as she scanned the ground. "Where are you?"  
Goku and Vegeta were at their limit now. Chronos's warriors continued to push against their defenses, and the two Saiyans were almost spent.  
"Vegeta," said Goku. "We need to use the last two Senzu beans! It should give us enough energy to push these guys back for good."  
"I think I saw that Videl girl flying off into the valley with one a moment ago," Vegeta grunted.   
"You think she's going for Arame?"  
"We need to focus on what's in front of us, Kakarot."  
"Right!"  
Chronos suddenly exerted more time altering energy, freezing Goku and Vegeta in place.  
"I will have something tonight," Chronos said. "Even if it's just your heads." He smiled. "It's interesting watching you Saiyans evolve, in its own way. I'm beginning to think I went about this the wrong way. No matter. I'll have plenty of time to think about this af--"  
A golden streak of energy slammed into Chronos and took him into a mountain. Goku and Vegeta regained themselves.  
"What was that?" asked Goku in bewilderment.  
"At a guess," replied Vegeta, "I'd say that was a very pissed off Arame."  
There was a yell from the mountain, from a voice that sounded like Arame, and said mountain exploded in a flash of golden Ki.  
Chronos reappeared in a flash of light and found himself close to Goku and Vegeta.  
Arame rushed up a moment later, Super Saiyan, and very irate.  
"Time to put you in the dirt where you belong," Arame growled. "I am not a tool to be used. By ANYONE!"  
Chronos glared at her. "This battle isn't over, Saiyans. I will have what is mine."  
There was another flash, and then everything froze. In that instant, Chronos and his soldiers vanished, leaving only Goku, Vegeta, and Arame floating in the air. Vegeta headed back down to the cliff where Krillin and Goten stood. Videl had finally rejoined them.  
Goku landed next, followed by Arame.  
"This is bullshit!" Arame cursed. "That bastard can't stay still long enough for anyone to crush him like the insect he is." She looked around at everyone else. "What's up?"  
Almost everyone had their eyes turned upward or somewhere else. Especially Goten, who was ruby red.   
"Arame!" Videl said suddenly. "Look down! You're..."  
Arame glanced down at herself and then turned red herself. "Oh..."

-End of Part Nine-


	10. Part Ten

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time begins to warp. An old foe returns, but this is only the beginning...

Thirteen: A New Crisis! The Timelines Begin to Rupture!

"I knew it was going to happen."  
"Arame did get her Great Ape form under control, Lord Beerus," Whis observed as they watched the replay of events from three Earth days ago. "Our renegade Time Keeper didn't know what to expect. No Saiyan has ever achieved that level of control when transformed before."  
Beerus watched the exchange closely. "I'm concerned about his meddling with the timestream. It may become unstable, and who knows what might happen. Timelines could begin to blend together and old threats could become new." He grimaced. Then he yawned. "Not that I care. But we should probably send word to the Supreme Kai just to be safe."  
"I'll make sure he's notified," said Whis.

-Break-

Piccolo was out on the lookout when the Supreme Kai arrived. He came alone, and his expression told Piccolo that he had dire news.  
"Supreme Kai!" Piccolo exclaimed.  
"Greetings, Piccolo," replied Shin. "We have some important details to discuss. I've been informed of some strange occurrences here on Earth. Whis contacted me earlier with word of a renegade Time Keeper." He paused. "What he told me fills me with worry."  
"It's another crisis," Piccolo replied. "We endure these far too often."  
"So it would seem," said Shin. "Where is the Saiyan connected to Chronos. I need to speak with them."  
"Hold on a moment," said Piccolo. He focused his will towards Goku. Goku! The Supreme Kai is here on the Lookout. He needs to speak with Arame at once.  
The Supreme Kai is here? Goku replied. I'll get some others together too. Arame should be able to get there quick though.   
I was contacting you so that you could bring her here with Instant Transmission.  
Just get in touch with her, Piccolo. I'll round up the others.  
Piccolo grunted and focused instead on Arame. Arame, this is Piccolo. I'm speaking directly into your mind. The Supreme Kai is here and he needs to speak with you as soon as possible.  
I'll be there in a bit! Arame replied.  
Wait, said Piccolo, you need Goku's Instant Transm-  
Arame blinked into existence just two meters away from Piccolo, with two fingers planted firmly between her eyes. She lowered them and waved at Piccolo. "I know."  
Piccolo was a bit shocked. "How did you learn that?"  
Arame walked up to them and gave Piccolo a weird look. "I asked Kakarot to teach me. I don't know why the rest of you haven't asked him yet."  
Piccolo turned his head. "Never mind. Not important."  
The Supreme Kai stepped up to Arame. "So you're the Saiyan I've heard about. Whis didn't mention that you were female. It's a pleasure to meet you."  
"Who're you? The Supreme Kai?"  
"Yes."  
"I'm not really sure what that is."  
Piccolo interjected with, "It means he's the head of all the Kais, otherwise known as the gods of creation of the universe. That makes him as important as Lord Beerus."  
"Oh!" Arame perked up. "I apologize for my rudeness."  
"No need for formality," said Shin. "I came here mainly to give you a warning."   
Goku arrived with Bulma a moment later, as quickly as Arame had. "I couldn't get anyone else to come, except for Bulma. They're all too busy right now."  
"Goku, you just popped up and said, 'Supreme Kai needs to talk to us' and then popped us out before I could say anything," Bulma told him. "When did you check with the others?"  
"I checked everyone else before you," said Goku. "Good seeing you back and one-hundred percent, Arame."  
"I've felt better," Arame replied.  
Supreme Kai cleared his throat. "I bring news, everyone. You must make sure that everyone is prepared for what may come to pass. According to Whis and Beerus the Destroyer, Chronos's tampering with the timestream has left it wildly unstable. It's all stemming from him, even though he is currently unable to be located.  
"We have identified several points that have become unstable. Age 737, age 753, and age 767. It is possible that Chronos is moving between these points in history and that his doing so is creating a warp in the continuum." Shin closed his eyes grimly. "I fear that history may become broken if something isn't done to fix the issue."  
"Is there anything special about those particular dates?" Arame asked.  
"There is," said Shin. "Two of them, particularly: age 753 was during the terror of King Piccolo, and age 767 was when Cell was active on the planet." He paused. "I'm not sure about age 737 though. It's fluctuations are certainly powerful enough to warrant caution. He may be attempting to alter the timelines at the source."  
Piccolo growled. "He's warping the timeline with my father. This won't be good."  
"Worst case scenario," Shin told Piccolo, "is that he may be brought into this timeline with more power than ever before."  
"WHAT?" Goku yelled. "I went through a lot of trouble the first time around with him."  
"If he comes back," Piccolo seethed, "then I'll take him out personally. You have my word on that."  
"And Cell," Goku mused. "If he were powered up beyond where he was before...it could be a real nightmare."  
"So it's only going to get worse," said Arame. "We need to find Chronos and put an end to him."  
"If he builds up enough power, he could alter timelines," said Shin, "instead of just merging them. You need to make sure that everyone is ready for this. Lord Beerus might not care much, but Whis is taking an interest. I'm supposed to keep him apprised of the situation as it develops, so I'll be staying in touch with Piccolo and Dende."  
"Right," Dende said. He and Mr. Popo had been standing off to the side for some time, observing the conversation.  
"Wait," Arame said. "If he's trying to alter the timelines at the source, and the oldest age you mentioned was age 737..." She thought. Then her eyes opened wide. "Oh no..."  
"Did you figure something out?"  
Arame grimaced. "Planet Vegeta."  
They all watched her. "What do you mean?"  
"That must be when my home planet was destroyed!" Arame exclaimed, realization dawning on her. "That could change the entire history of the universe!" She was drawing on everything she knew about the history of Earth since Kakarot's arrival. "Of all universes!"  
"What do you mean?"  
"If he destroys Planet Vegeta before Kakarot and Prince Vegeta leave..." Arame said. "The history of our universe will be changed. And he could do something worse...like leave the planet intact!"  
Piccolo and Shin were surprised at that. "You think it'd be worse if he saves the planet?"  
"Without question," Arame said. "Saiyans were usually bloodthirsty killers and conquerors. Reforming our society was out of the question, and those of us who didn't care for conquest and deadly battle were pushed out by the wayside. Like my mother and I. Not all of my people deserved to die...just most of them."  
"That's...very deep," Shin replied. "It is a shame, and you're also absolutely right about everything. Without Goku, no one would stop Frieza."  
Piccolo thought briefly about how Goku had also been the root cause of a lot of their problems, so the events may not have even come to pass that nearly led to the destruction of the planet on multiple occasions. However, those thoughts were pushed aside as Arame spoke up again.  
"So what do we do then? Do we just wait?"  
Goku sighed. "I guess that's all we can do. Piccolo, can you and Dende keep us informed? If you sense Cell, or anything else out of the ordinary, sound the alarm."  
"It's about all I'm good for right now," Piccolo replied. "What are you going to do?"  
"I guess I can keep training," said Arame. "I'm still not used to the whole Super Saiyan thing."  
"I know a place where you can test it out."  
Before she left with Goku, Shin spoke to Arame privately.

-Break-

"Alright," said Goku. "This field is far enough away from any towns or cities that we shouldn't make too much of an impact. When you first hit Super Saiyan, it was really weird. I've never seen that sort of power before."  
Arame focused her Ki inwardly. "I'll try to replicate the circumstances." Her energy shrank to almost nothing, and then she let it flow as it did before, almost like an eruption. Yet she kept her energy pushed within.   
She flared into Super Saiyan once more.  
Goku stared in amazement. "Wow...usually there's an eruption of power. But I didn't even feel your power level rising. It's almost like a silent Super Saiyan." He watched her for a moment. "And your aura's a weird white-gold too. Normally it's only a sharp gold color."  
Arame glanced down at herself. Outside of the heat of battle, she could clearly see the difference the transformation made. Her muscles had increased in size and mass by a slight margin, and yet she felt much lighter on her feet.  
Her hair had turned gold, based on what she knew as she didn't have a mirror to look in, and looking down at her tail, she could see that its hair was gold as well.  
"I wonder if my Great Ape form could be affected like this," she pondered.   
"I hadn't even considered that," said Goku. "That kind of power could be unstoppable."  
Arame sighed. "Probably shouldn't risk it then."  
Goku readied his battle stance. "Alright, let's do this!"  
They sparred, going back and forth for several minutes, neither one giving any ground.  
"You're definitely not a normal Super Saiyan, that's for sure," Goku said during a lull.  
Arame charged Goku again. "No worse than you'd expect, Kakarot!"  
Goku vanished with Instant Transmission and appeared behind Arame, grabbing her tail.  
Suddenly, her power froze. She started getting weaker, and even her Super aura was flickering out. Arame twirled and kicked, but she was already back to her base form, and Goku beat her back with ease.  
Arame crashed into a plateau. She shook her head to clear it and dashed back out. She was still back in her base form.  
"What the heck was that?" She demanded.  
"You weren't covering your tail," Goku retorted. "It's a weakness that can be easily exploited by your enemies if you're not careful."  
Arame's eyes widened in realization. He's right! It doesn't matter how much power I accumulate. If someone grabs my furry appendage, it's lights out. I could protect it the normal way, by making it a belt...but maybe...  
"I know what my next challenge is, Kakarot!" Arame called out to him. "You just helped me realize my greatest flaw. It's time to turn it into a strength, but I need some time. Can we meet here for regular training starting tomorrow? At about this time?"  
Goku powered down. "Yeah, sure! But, uh...how do you plan on overcoming this issue?"  
"You'll see," Arame replied. "It's endurance training."

-Break-

"There," said Bulma, applying the clip to Arame's tail. It was designed to replicate a grip as much as possible, and the effects were instantaneous.  
"Yeah," Arame groaned. "That'll do it."  
"You seriously want to train like this?" Bulma asked her incredulously.  
Arame nodded. "You got it." She tried to focus her energy. "My tail can't come off, so I have to overcome this weakness."  
A little bit later, she prepared to square up with Trunks.  
"Ready?" he asked.  
"Yeah," replied Arame, already exerting herself. "Let's do this!"  
Their sparring session didn't last long. Arame got fatigued much faster with her tail in a vice, and too many of Trunks's blows were penetrating her guard. Even after he knocked her down, she got right back up and they went at it again.   
And again.  
And again.  
Arame refused to stay down, even when she was pouring sweat and barely able to stand.  
"I think you need a break, Arame," said Trunks.  
In between gasps of air, Arame replied, "...No..." She readied herself shakily. "If I quit...now...I'm never...going to beat...this..." She charged her Ki.   
Her growl became a yell, and her yell became a roar of fury. She exploded into Super Saiyan in a shower of gold and white, causing the ground to shake and the air to spark. It took more effort than before.  
Trunks went to Super Saiyan as well.  
They charged each other again. Arame refused to surrender. And as she fought, she felt the weakness lessening. Yet this wasn't something she could beat in a day. It would take perseverance. And Kakarot was going to help her with it too.  
Some distance away, on CC's balcony, Vegeta watched the sparring session with his usual expression.  
"She's got a lot of fire," Bulma observed from nearby. "I think she can overcome this weakness."  
"I haven't seen a drive like that in a long time," Vegeta replied. "She may be one of the best of us." He looked at his wife sharply. "But don't tell her I said that!"  
Bulma laughed. "And spoil the fun? Never."

-Break-

"A lot of people died in South City," said Piccolo.  
Dende nodded. "Yeah. Way more than we can let slide I think."  
"Then we need to get in touch with the others," Piccolo went on to say. He looked upward and reached out telepathically. "Bulma! I need to speak with you!"  
"Piccolo?" Bulma replied, still watching Arame sparring with Trunks. "What is it?"  
"The attack on South City needs to be rectified," Piccolo told her. "You know what to do."  
"Right. Dragon Radar."

A little bit later, as Arame was guzzling a bottle of water, she saw Bulma talking with Trunks about something. She approached them, interested in their conversation.   
"You are in charge of that, alright?" Bulma was saying to him. "We have five of them already. The last two shouldn't be too hard to find."  
"Unless they're on the ice continent, right?" said Trunks with a laugh.  
"What are you guys talking about?" Arame asked as she came to a halt near their position.  
Bulma looked at her. "Trunks is going to head out and track down the rest of the dragon balls so we can revive South City."  
Arame blinked a few times. Then her eyes went wide. "Um...the dragon's what?"  
Bulma put her hands on her hips. "Oh, right, you don't know about that yet. The dragon balls are a set of seven magical wish granting orbs. Gather them together and you speak a certain phrase to summon a dragon that grants you a single wish."  
"Wow, incredible," Arame replied. "At least it would be if I could believe that. But I can't really take something like that at face value."  
"Fair enough," said Trunks. "Why don't you come with us?"  
"To do what?"  
"Find the dragon balls, of course!"  
Arame raised an eyebrow. "Where are we gonna find them? Between the dragon's legs?"  
"Oh man," Bulma sighed. "Trunks, show her how the dragon radar works. Then you make the wish."  
"Got it," Trunks replied. He clicked on the Dragon Radar, which immediately started beeping. "Well, it's picking up the five we have in the backpack here, and there's another one a few miles to the north."   
"Twist the radial," Bulma said in a dull tone.  
Trunks twisted the radial and looked at the radar again. "Yeah, there's one about...oh...sixty miles to the north. Probably in the mountains."  
"Uh huh," said Bulma. "Take the plane when you two head out. It's less conspicuous."

-Break-

"We can fly faster than this thing," Arame noted. Trunks was piloting the craft and Arame had her left hand on the back of Trunks's seat while she observed his careful handling of the controls.  
"Mom was insistent," Trunks replied. "And I learned a long time ago not to argue with her."  
"Can't fault you for that," Arame said with a sigh. "She'd give anyone pause." Arame walked over the the window and looked out at the passing landscape, which had once been farmland but was now replaced with foothills and was gradually transitioning to rugged mountains. "I'm still having a hard time wrapping my head around this whole 'wish granting dragon' nonsense."  
"It's not nonsense, Arame," Trunks remarked. "Did you know that that's what drew Frieza to Namek in the first place. Their dragon balls, which grant three wishes. Kami was the one who first gave us dragon balls...a long time ago. And he modeled his on the Namekian balls."  
"Well these dragon's balls things still sound really far fetched to me," Arame replied. "Look at it from my perspective."  
"Most people don't know they exist, so it's better to show you." Trunks handed her the Dragon Radar. "You keep a hold on that. It'll guide us right to the dragon ball. I asked Goten to meet us here too."  
Arame flushed. "Oh...right, Goten! Greeeat..."  
Trunks looked at her. "Something wrong?"  
"No, not really, it's just...well," Arame swallowed. "The other night, when I went crazy and got transformed...you were unconscious after I turned back, but Goten...got an eyeful."  
Trunks watched her for a moment, thinking. Then he flushed as well. "Oh! Well...this might help clear the air."  
The plane touched down on a rocky outcropping above the treeline. According to the radar, the dragon ball wasn't too far away, and a little ways to the northeast.  
"Looks like it's about...a mile away?" Arame looked at Trunks. "You sure you couldn't have gotten closer?"  
"There was nowhere safe enough to land," Trunks replied. "And since mom forced us to bring the plane, I need to keep it in good condition."  
Arame scanned the area in their immediate vicinity. "Wonder how long it'll take us to find this thing?"  
"Not really," Trunks said.   
Up in the sky, not too far away, they heard a rushing noise. In the next moment, Goten landed near them and waved. "Hey Trunks," he said. He looked at Arame, blushed, and looked away. "Arame. Hi..."  
"Hey, Goten," Arame said. "How've you been?"  
Goten shook his head. "I'm good. Better for the company now though."  
"Aww, I appreciate it," Arame replied.  
"Alright, we're all here," said Trunks. "Let's get searching for that dragon ball."

-Break-

Trunks held up the glimmering orb for Goten and Arame to see. It possessed a sharp orange color, and embedded within were what looked to be six star symbols.  
"Alright!" Exclaimed Trunks. "The six-star dragon ball! All we're missing is the four star ball and we've got them all."  
Arame raised an eyebrow. "They're marked by stars?"  
"Wait, you already had five of the dragon balls?" Goten asked Trunks.  
"Yeah, mom collects them now for some reason," Trunsk told him. "She won't say why though."  
Goten looked at the ball. "So where does it say the last one is?"  
"Ask Arame. She has the Radar."  
Arame blinked. "Oh, right!" She clicked it back on.  
It registered the ones they had, but nothing else.  
"I'm not getting a blip like before," she said. "It's showing the balls we have, I think...but there are only six dots here."  
"What?" Trunks said. He looked at the Radar.  
Sure enough, only six blips.  
"That's not right," Trunks went on to say. He dialed the radius out to cover as wide a space as the radar could. There was still nothing.  
"Hey, do you guys feel that?" Goten asked, looking around.  
Arame paused for a moment. "The air does feel kind of weird." Suddenly there was a spike of energy. She turned around to see someone floating just a few meters away and above them, looking down on them with a self-righteous sneer.  
He was a greenish black color, and he resembled a bug of some sort. What's more, he had a massive power signature, but it didn't feel right. It was almost as though it was fluctuating. And it certainly didn't feel natural.  
Goten and Trunks turned to face him and their faces froze in horror.  
"It...can't be...!" Trunks sputtered.  
The insect-humanoid laughed, his voice deep and menacing. "I thought I sensed power over here."

 

Fourteen: The Return of Cell! Arame's Secret Weapon!

"It's...it's Cell," Trunks gasped. "How?"  
"How?" Cell asked. "I don't even know myself. I could've sworn I destroyed this miserable ball of dirt some time ago. A flash of light and a twist of reality and I'm back here again." He shrugged. "Ah well, I guess I can see how things went on in a different timeline. Might give me some more fun."  
Arame bared her teeth. "Chronos. His meddling with the time stream caused this."  
"I don't recognize any of you, however," Cell said. His eyes fell on Arame. "Oh, but this is interesting. A tail? That makes you a Saiyan." He paused, staring at her. "Eh, you'll do." He vanished.  
In the next instant, Arame was struck by an incredible force which sent her soaring through three trees and into the side of a mountain.  
She shakily climbed out of the crater. "What the...heck hit me?"  
"Come now, that was just a flick of my wrist!" Cell yelled out from a great distance away. Arame had been blown back over a hundred yards it seemed. "Don't tell me you're the runt of the litter!"  
Cell stared at the spot where he'd knocked the girl. For a moment, there was silence. Then there was an eruption of gold, and the girl came flying back at him with venom in her eyes, now a Super Saiyan. They clashed with great force.  
"Ah, there we go," Cell said as he glared at her with exuberant malice. "There's the fury I was hoping for from your warrior race. You'd give the prince a run for his money."  
Arame stared up at that perfect jawline with fury. So this is Cell? He's tough, but I'm tougher.  
They started trading blows, going back and forth with ferocious energy. Every punch created a vibration in the air. Dust and dirt swirled about them. Despite the intensity with which Arame was fighting, she could tell that Cell wasn't even trying.  
When he started putting in some basic effort, Arame was put on the defensive.  
How? Even at Super Saiyan level he's this strong?  
Cell sent her flying with a sudden kick that came way too fast for Arame to see. He caught her in the back with an elbow, stopping her flat. Her eyes went wide in pain and shock. Then Cell sent her into the air with an uppercut. He followed up with a sledgehammer that sent Arame into the dirt, creating a rather large crater.  
"Oho, this is fun," he said with a chuckle. "I'd forgotten how much fun it was using an ape for a punching bag." He looked upward. "The last time was with the prince, even though he turned out to be a waste." He looked back down at where Trunks stood. Then his eyes widened a bit. "Oh, I remember you now! You're the prince's brat, aren't you? You made some half-assed attempt at stopping me with time travel, I think. Between that and Goku's barely passable attempt at fighting, the Cell Games were an all around bore."  
Arame launched herself at Cell with intensity. He blocked her strike and sent her flying away without even looking at her. "Although, there was that one who showed some promise...Goku's brat. If only he'd unlocked his special power."  
Goten rushed over to Arame. She was in the dirt, but she still had the aura of a Super Saiyan so she still had some fight left in her. Yet even as he watched, the glow left her. Arame sat up, grimacing in pain.  
"It's no use," she moaned. "He's too powerful. Is the time stream making him stronger, or am I still weak?"  
"You're not weak," Goten told her. "You just don't know how to read Cell yet. We might need to call in some help."  
There was a yell from Trunks as he burst into Super Saiyan form. He launched himself at Cell this time, and he was actually able to force the creature back.  
Arame watched in awe. "He's holding his own? Awesome."  
Goten looked at her. "He won't last for long. Is there anything else we can do?"  
Trunks was kicked back. Goten watched that happen, then powered to Super Saiyan himself and charged Cell on his own.  
"Goten!" Yelled Arame. She took off right after him, and the two of them combined their assault against Cell.  
At first, it seemed like the two Super Saiyans had an advantage, but it didn't last long. Arame aimed a sharp kick, which Cell deflected. Before he could retaliate, Goten struck at him with a sweeping fist. Cell countered that and sent Goten back a few feet.  
Arame and Goten launched a tirade of attacks, their strikes nothing but a blurred flurry. Cell dodged or deflected everything they gave him.   
"You're boring me!" Cell readied a Ki blast and fired it right at Goten.  
"Goten!" Arame yelled. She rushed up and pushed him out of the way. The blast took Arame across the back and sent both of them flying into the dirt.  
Cell watched with disinterest. "Well, that's cute."  
Trunks came at Cell again suddenly, hoping to catch him off guard.  
Goten struggled to his feet. "He's too strong for any of us. I don't know what's happening here. The air feels weird and I don't feel right myself." He rolled his right arm. "I think our only hope is fusion."  
Cell finished with Trunks rather swiftly then, and the crash was audible.  
Goten and Arame had to shield their eyes from the resultant wave of dirt that rolled over them. "Trunks!" Goten yelled.   
Arame was sitting and staring, thinking.   
Her mind returned to the Supreme Kai. Earlier, when he'd pulled her aside...

'Arame, do you mind if I speak with you?' asked Kaio-Shin.  
Arame shook her head. 'Of course not, Supreme Kai. What do you need?'  
'I feel that the battles you're going to face in the coming days will be great tests of endurance,' said Shin. 'They will be fraught with peril, and the only way you'll overcome is with the aid of your friends. So here...' Shin put something into her hand. They looked like two very tiny objects, but they were unidentifiable to her.  
'What are they?'  
Shin explained.  
'Unbelievable!' Arame gasped.  
'Use them if you have no other option.'

Arame fished the two objects out of her belt pouch. Two earrings. 'Potara' was what Shin had called them. She put one of the yellow earrings on her left ear. "Goten!"  
Goten turned to face her.   
She held out the Potara. "Put this on your right ear!"  
"What is it?"  
"It's a Potara," Arame explained. "Supreme Kai gave them to me. They allow for a more perfect fusion for a short time."  
"That seems a little out there," Goten replied.   
"You said fusion is all we have, right?"  
"But will it work right? And you want to fuse with me?"  
"I trust you, Goten." She paused. "And I don't know if it will work, but I just know what Shin promised. Just do it."  
Goten thought for a moment, looked up at Cell (who was barely paying attention at the moment), and then back at Arame. Then he took the Potara from her and said, "Right ear?"  
"Yeah."  
He put the Potara on his right ear quickly. "I hope this wor--" He stared. "Yours is glowing, Arame."  
Arame stared back. "Yours too."  
Suddenly they were pulled toward each other with a harsh force. The energy felt warm for Arame for a moment, and then her consciousness ceased to be.

"Is no one on this rock still able to give me a halfway decent challenge?" Cell mused. "The pink haired brat is unconscious, the Saiyan with the tail is out of commission, and the other one is...well, it's not even worth calling him a fighter."  
There was a flash of energy from down below suddenly, and a mild eruption.  
"What's this?" Cell asked. Then he got a proper look. "Oh? Here comes a new challenger, I see."  
Where once there had been two, there was now only one. A single hand emerged over the lip of a small crater, followed by another. Next came a head that bore a wash of spiky black hair that extended to their waist. An azure gi, mixed with tints of sunset orange, was their outfit. Their eyes were dark, and their body...strangely proportioned. And they still had Arame's tail too.  
They stretched their back, and then thrust forward quickly. "Whoa!" They yelled, the voices of Goten and Arame overlapping in synchronicity. "What a RUSH!" They looked at their hands. "So...first things first...am I male or female?" They opened the front of their gi. "Those are still there." Then they checked elsewhere. "Oh okay...I'm still female."   
She looked up at Cell. "Hey! Cell!"  
"There were two of you a moment ago," Cell called back. "Now there's one! Who the hell are you?"  
The fused Saiyan punched her left palm. "That...is a good question." She got lost in thought for a moment. "We're the fusion of Goten and Arame so maybe...Araten? No, that's stupid." Beat. "Goro...ten? No, no! Gorome [pron: Go-roh-may]?" Her eyes clicked. "That's it, we are Gorome! We are your next opponent Cell, so ready yourself!"  
Cell watched her for a moment. "Fusion, huh? Well, this should be interesting. Then give me everything you've got, you two!"  
Gorome charged Cell with every ounce of force they had and struck his guard. For the first time, Cell shook a bit.  
"Gotcha!" Gorome growled.  
Cell smirked.

Vegeta could sense it. The power to the north was incredible. He'd felt something like it before, but it had been years. If it was who he thought it was, then today was about to get a lot more interesting.

Gorome powered herself up to Super Saiyan grade two and slammed into Cell hard enough to send him flying. She then sent a barrage of Ki blasts right after him. They hit home, but Cell recovered and doubled back to hammer her with his own Ki assault.  
Gorome dodged with Instant Transmission, coming up behind Cell and slamming him with a crashing series of strikes that had him flying into the ground.  
Staring down at him with a smirk of her own, Gorome said, "Shoe's on the other foot, Cell!"  
Cell came up and slammed into her, knocking her off balance. "I'll admit you've surprised me with your tenacity. But this is where that surprise ends. You may have been able to break through my guard, but I've seen this kind of power before."  
Gorome charged Cell again, but this time she wasn't able to get past his defense. He was better able to read her attacks now. He'd been studying her.   
Despite her inability to get inside his guard, he was able to penetrate hers. Cell found an opening and landed a triple series of strikes on Gorome that sent her flying toward the ground.  
She righted herself, incensed. Gorome growled in anger. Then she let out a roar and powered herself to Super Saiyan grade three.  
That gave Cell momentary pause. "What the--?"  
Gorome flew into Cell and hammered him with a relentless assault.   
This, Cell couldn't counter in time. Gorome's assault kept hitting home until Cell was knocked back a few dozen feet, dazed and astounded at the power Gorome had.  
Gorome readied her Ki, letting it flow around her body as it built up to immense levels. Then she launched herself high and let that aura envelop her. She expelled her Ki in projectile form, all aimed at Cell, and then took off after them.   
"Final Rain!"  
The Ki blasts struck Cell all at once, shattering him almost completely. But then, Gorome's physical strike split what was left of him into three pieces. leaving his broken body on the ground.  
Gorome came to a halt on the ground in a crouch.   
Suddenly, her Super Saiyan power flared out. The potara flashed again, Gorome's body glowed, and she split back into Goten and Arame.   
Arame lay on the ground for a moment. But as she rose, she felt a sense of elation. "These potara really work in a pinch." She pulled the earring from her ear and pocketed it. "Need to remember that."  
Goten sat up and sighed. "That was a rush." He took off his own potara and handed it to Arame. "But it did the job."  
"Did it now?"  
Arame and Goten froze in shock. They turned to see where the voice had come from and found Cell standing there staring at them, as complete as ever.  
"Namekian cells are a marvel, aren't they?" He asked with a pleased sigh. "And with my Saiyan cells, I get a zenkai boost to boot."  
"Zenkai?" Arame gasped. Her eyes widened. "Oh no..." She looked at Goten. "We're in trouble."  
"No kidding," replied Goten.  
Cell cracked his knuckles. "Our fun is only just starting."

-End of Part Ten-


	11. Part Eleven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More breaks in the time continuum, and a strange new ally...

Fifteen: Shattered Dimensions! A Dazzling Surprise!

Cell, Goten, and Arame stared each other down from a distance of fifty yards.   
Arame knew that she and Goten were in dire straits, and she was almost drained of power. Fusing into Gorome had taken what little she’d had left. She could barely muster up any strength at all.  
Cell raised his hand and prepared a Ki blast. “I have to say you’ve been mildly entertaining though. As a reward, I’ll make your deaths swift and as painless as possible.”  
He fired his energy blast.  
Arame shut her eyes and braced herself.   
But something warped in front of her right before the blast hit. There was a flash of light, and an eruption of dirt and energy. Then she heard the familiar sound of a Super Saiyan aura. Arame dared to open her eyes and saw a girl standing there.  
She looked to be around eleven or twelve years old. Her long hair was spiky and golden, and her hand was outstretched. She’d stopped his blast almost effortlessly.  
“You,” she hissed. “Why are you here?”  
Cell narrowed his eyes. “Who the hell are you?”  
“The fact that you ask me that tells me that you’re from a different timeline,” the new girl said. “That’s something we have in common. In my timeline, I ended you.”  
“And in mine, I destroyed this miserable ball of dirt when Goku’s brat failed to show me his power,” replied Cell. “My, how things differ across dimensions.”  
“The timelines and dimensions are infinite,” the girl said. “I thought you would have known this.”  
Cell’s brow furrowed. “I feel that if we go any farther along this line of conversation we’re going to end up debating semantics, and I don’t have the patience for that.”  
Arame stepped up next to the girl. “You’re from a different timeline?”  
The girl looked at Arame. In that instant, Arame thought she might have seen the girl before. Her facial structure looked familiar. “Who are you?” The girl asked.  
“Arame,” replied the other. “I’m a Saiyan who’s relatively new to Earth.”  
“Another Saiyan?” said the girl. “Interesting. Well, we can discuss it later. Right now we have a bug to squash. Can you still fight? You look like you’ve done your share already.”  
“I have,” replied Arame, “but I can still throw a punch.” She stared for another moment. “Who are you exactly though? You look familiar.”  
“I can assure you we’ve never met,” said the girl.  
“Answer the question,” Cell interjected. “I want a name!”  
The girl stared Cell down. “My name…is Gohan!”  
Cell’s eyes went wide in shock. As did Goten’s and Arame’s.   
The girl named Gohan readied herself for battle. “I am the daughter of the Saiyan Goku and the Earthling Chi-Chi. Does that answer your question, insect?”  
“Goku’s brat is male, not female!” Cell retorted.  
“Maybe in this timeline,” girl-Gohan yelled back, “but not where I come from!” She charged Cell faster than one could blink. Her power was astonishing to Arame, and far beyond what she was capable of. Even Cell was caught off guard, pushed back on the defensive.  
But that didn’t last long.   
Arame watched with awe as Cell’s guard was broken and he was sent crashing into the ground. He backpedaled to gain some distance and recover his battle posture, but it was useless.   
Girl-Gohan smashed into him again, sending his entire body into the air and then slamming him down into a tailspin that tore a tree in half. She then rushed down toward him, grabbed him, hurled him into the air, and launched him into the air with a mighty throw. What followed was a Kamehameha to end them all. A wave of blue energy as wide as three jet engines engulfed Cell’s entire body.  
When the energy died away, there was nothing left.  
Girl-Gohan lowered her hands.  
Arame and Goten stared in wonder. Over in the distance, Trunks was beginning to rise to his feet once more.   
“Ow, that hurt something fierce,” Trunks said.  
“Trunks!” Goten yelled. “You alright?”  
Trunks looked up and saw the female Gohan first. His eyebrows went up. “Who--?”  
“A female Gohan from another dimension,” interjected Arame. “The timelines are—”  
“Arame!”  
Piccolo’s voice shot right into her head. “Piccolo? Geez, you surprised me!”  
We’ve got a serious problem, replied Piccolo, as if not even having heard her. There’s trouble in the northern mountains. Goku and Gohan have their hands full, but there seems to be a rupture in the time stream. We need everyone out there now!  
“We’ve had some trouble of our own here,” Arame replied. “We just had a run in with Cell. If not for some outside help, we would have been finished.”  
Sounds like another rupture, but from what we can tell, they’re converging in the mountains, replied Piccolo. We can discuss all of this later.   
Then Piccolo was gone.  
“What’s up, Arame?”  
Arame looked to Goten. “Trouble in the northern mountains. Time stream ruptures are converging there, and Piccolo wants us to come as quick as we can.”  
“I’ll follow,” said girl-Gohan. “There might be a way for me to get back to my own timeline there.”  
Trunks flew back over to the plane, shrunk it to a capsule size, pocketed it, and then they took off toward the mountains. The four moved as fast as their Ki would carry them.

-Break-

“This is…all wrong,” Arame gasped as they observed the scene before them.  
Far below, their Gohan, Goku, Vegeta, and Piccolo, were all facing down enemies that looked like they didn’t belong here in the slightest. It wasn’t just the time stream warping. This was something else. It was something entirely different from what could have been expected, if a problem like this could have been expected at all.  
There were plenty of short green creatures, all with red eyes, that formed the basis of a swarm. Arame recognized them as Saibamen, and there looked to be more coming from…somewhere.  
On top of the dire situation developing below, Arame noticed that the air was shimmering and slightly distorted.   
The four of them descended as one to stand next to the other Z-warriors.  
“It’s about time you all got here!” Piccolo called.   
“Saibamen?” asked girl-Gohan, stepping forward. “They can’t be giving you this hard a time.”  
“They keep pouring through time rifts that open up out of nowhere,” Goku replied. “Also, who’re you?”  
She looked at Goku strangely, as though she wanted to tell him right then, but thought better of it. “If I told you it would only confuse you. Let’s save it for later.”  
“Do we have any way to stabilize the time stream?” Arame asked.  
“Bulma’s working on something with Whis to get this sorted out,” said Vegeta. “We just need to buy time.”  
“Then let’s get to it!” Goten yelled.  
The eight warriors charged into the Saibamen and started destroying them one at a time. They were frail and easily destroyed, but for every one felled, two took its place. What’s more, Arame, Goten, and Trunks were still exhausted from their fight with Cell.  
The struggle went on for some time, and the Saibamen kept coming. More than one of them attempted to explode, but quick reflexes from the Z-warriors prevented anyone from succumbing.  
Suddenly there was an eruption from above that had the Saibamen flying backward. Whis had arrived, and Bulma was with him, both suspended in a force shield of pure energy. Bulma was carrying a spherical device of some kind. The shield dropped and the device flashed, emitting a frequency that could just barely be heard at the edge of the senses.  
At once, the warping seemed to slow.  
The Saibamen were gone, all obliterated by Whis’s power, and for the moment there was a lull in the action.  
“This should buy us some time,” said Bulma, “but we need one of those time rings to finish things out. Lord Beerus is with the Supreme Kai now. They’re getting one here as fast as possible.”  
“So that’s not a permanent fix?” Vegeta replied. “Great. What’s next?”  
Girl-Gohan stepped up. “Is that invention of yours using the same frequency your time machine used, Bulma? It seems like it has a little less power than before if so.”  
“It’s similar,” replied Bulma, “and based on my future self’s design.” She looked at the female Gohan and said, “Who are you again?”  
Girl-Gohan just looked back at her. “No one of importance.”  
“Oh my,” Whis said, concerned. “It seems we have a timeline distortion of a different kind on our hands. I know who you are.”  
Girl-Gohan looked at Whis in shock. “They don’t really need to know do they?”  
“It’s not like it’s going to change anything,” replied Whis.   
“So who is she?” The male Gohan asked. “She looks a little familiar.”  
“Well, she certainly should, Gohan,” Whis told him. “She’s you from a different timeline.”  
Gohan started in surprise. “What? Seriously?”  
Whis chuckled. “Indeed. This girl is Gohan, right down to the DNA. The only differences are the gender and the age.  
Girl-Gohan looked at her male self. Then, she looked at Piccolo, who was standing nearby. The look she gave him was one of understanding and firmness.  
Piccolo smirked. “Yeah. No doubt about it. She’s Gohan.”  
The air shifted suddenly.   
“Do you feel that?” Arame asked.  
“Yeah,” said Bulma. “My device can keep the small scale stuff in check, but we really need that time ring.”  
There was a presence to Arame’s right. An imposing presence. She turned just in time to block a slamming strike from a burly, hairless Saiyan warrior who she identified as Nappa. She’d seen him with her father several times when she was younger. But he’d had hair then.  
“Well, look at this,” he growled menacingly. “An upstart rookie in over her head.”  
Arame spread her arms and kicked Nappa away with a yell.  
“There’s more!” Piccolo called out.  
“Well this looks like a party!” It was Cell’s voice. Only this Cell was red instead of green. That didn’t alter his smug look or his incredible aura however.  
“You’ve gotta be kidding me!” Goten yelled out.  
“I have no idea how I got here,” said a new voice, which turned out to be coming from a Saiyan that looked very much like Kakarot.  
“Oh, great,” Nappa grumbled. “Another low class Saiyan here to steal my thunder.”  
“Any differences we have can be settled later,” said the new Saiyan. “My name is Turles. And I’m here to settle a score with that Saiyan over there!” He pointed to Kakarot. “The tailless wonder.”  
“I’ve never seen you before,” Goku replied sharply. “How could you have a grudge against me?”  
“We’ve never met in this reality,” Turles replied. “But I assure you that my grudge is very real and will be satisfied today.”  
Bulma checked her device again. “Uh oh…there are more time stream fluctuations at play here. Where is that time ring?”  
“They’re too powerful for this to be normal,” observed Vegeta. “This might actually be a real challenge.”  
With the time stream destabilizing, it was certainly bound to get worse.  
Arame’s mind returned to Chronos yet again.

He’s the cause of all of this. That smug, self-righteous ass! Years of torture, hypnotism, and reprogramming all to turn me into a weapon. When that fails, he screws off leaving us with his mess. There has to be more to it than this. He’s still planning something. But where is he?

(Author’s Aside: The presence of so many foes guarantee that this is meant to be a knockdown drag-out brawl with very little to show for it that hasn’t been seen before from other fanfictions. I usually shy away from writing fanservice so I’m going to skip ahead in this battle just a bit. However, I’m going to give some buildup before my final scene, and the next chapter is where this battle will shine as it’s concluded and sets up the opening to the final struggle, or final arc if you will, of Arame’s opening story.  
(I apologize if the rest of this chapter is cut short, but there is truly little that I can add here.)

Arame was exhausted but launched another assault on the foe before her. Though she wasn’t entirely aware of his existence in this timeline, she could be certain that he existed right in front of her in the present.   
At full power, he was a monumental opponent. Arame had never fully recovered, and she could barely muster up the energy to stand, let alone achieve her Super Saiyan form. And there was no way the others were going to be able to help her out as most of them were busy with their own struggles.  
From Nappa to the new red Cell, and Turles to Zarbon, the number of enemies that kept lining up from other timelines and dimensions was catastrophic.  
There were only two opponents left, and only three fighters still standing.   
Arame, Trunks, and Goku. The enemies opposite them were Turles (somehow), and the one Arame had been going toe to toe with, Freeza’s brother Cooler.  
There was an eruption of power near Arame’s feet and she went flying.  
“What’s wrong, apes? Can’t keep up?” Cooler called out haughtily. “I always knew you were disappointments. I’m not sure how my brother put up with you for so long.”  
Even as Arame hit the ground, she could feel something else. It was coalescing near her, and there was a sudden flash as another rift in the time stream opened.  
Is this the end then? I guess Chronos gets what he wants then, she thought as she lay in the dirt. Arame looked up blearily at the silhouetted figure standing over her. As the light behind the figure dimmed away, Arame got to see who it was.  
It was a young woman, with dark eyes and spiky black hair. Twitching at her waist was a tail, and that got Arame’s attention. She sat up. “Who’re…who’re you? A…Saiyan?”  
“Half,” she replied. She leaned in and smiled at Arame. “Never seen you before. Nice to meet you. If only under better circumstances.” She turned her head a bit, revealing a red ribbon in her hair. Then she looked back at Arame. “You’ve got your hands full, but I’m here to lend a hand.” She held her own hand out to help Arame up.  
Arame took that hand and rose to her feet. “Thanks…I guess.”  
“Don’t mention it,” the girl replied.  
“Who are you anyway?” Arame asked as the girl turned to face their two opponents.  
The girl turned her head to look back at Arame with a smile on her face, her tail twitching excitedly. “You can call me Ranch!”

-End of Part Eleven-

(Author’s Endnote: If you’re not aware of Ranch, she is a creation of MasakoX of Team Four Star fame. Based off of a concept in one of his many ‘What If’ scenarios, I decided to give the character a tribute here, if only for this part and the beginning of Part Twelve. [Ranch in MasakoX’s story is the half-Saiyan daughter of Raditz and Launch])


	12. Part Twelve

Sixteen: Together We Rise! The Power of Ranten!

Cooler and Turles may have been the only opponents left on the field, but they were still growing in power. What’s more, the time stream was still fluctuating, creating a warp effect in the air around them all.  
Through it all, Arame, Trunks, and Goku had managed to stay standing. Everyone else had hit their limit, and the time stream appeared to be weakening them. Yet Arame couldn’t feel it.  
The two Gohans, male and female, had gone down back to back. Vegeta had lasted longer than most, but in the end, Cooler had made swift work of him. He was exhausted by the time Freeza’s brother had arrived anyhow. Piccolo was unconscious, and Goten was down for the count, despite still being conscious.  
Whis was protecting Bulma, who was trying to get her machine to amplify its signal, though that was taking some time. It did mean that the angel was preoccupied however, and he was still maintaining a connection to Lord Beerus, so he was logically distracted on both fronts.  
But despite that, the three remaining fighters had a new ally.   
She called herself Ranch. Her long spiky black hair had a red ribbon tied into it. Her face had a look reminiscent of Kakarot’s, but not quite exact. What’s more, she had a tail. Right now, that tail was doing almost the same thing Arame’s was, which was curling and quivering in anticipation of the fight ahead.  
Cooler and Turles were both engaging Super Saiyan God Goku at present, his red flaming aura enveloping the air around them in a heated glow.  
Ranch hissed. “I need to get in there, but their power levels are just too strong. I wouldn’t be able to make much of a dent.” She looked around herself and her eyes fell on Trunks. “Well, my dad always says if you can’t win with force, then it’s time to strategize.”  
Goten stepped up near them, having decided to jump back into the action from his sitting position. “Who’re you?” He asked Ranch.  
“Cousin Goten,” she replied. “I see you’re still able to stand. Got any energy left to fight?”  
“Not as much as I should,” Goten said. “Also…cousin?”  
“Yeah, we’re cousins. You didn’t know that?”  
“I don’t know who you are exactly.”  
Ranch stared at him. “So, things are that different here, huh?”  
“How are you cousins with him?” Arame asked. “Who’s your mother and father?”  
“My dad is Raditz and my mom is Launch,” replied Ranch. “I’m guessing they don’t factor in here?”  
“Raditz?!” Exclaimed Arame.  
“Who’s Launch?” Goten added.  
Ranch groaned. “Never mind! We’ve got more important things to deal with right now. We can’t beat these guys head on, so we need to do a fusion. I need someone to fuse with specifically. And since Goten is out of commission…” She looked at Goten “…or so he says, it’s either you or Trunks.”  
Arame’s mind went to the Potara in her pocket again. She didn’t think she had enough strength for a fusion herself though.  
“It probably wouldn’t be a good idea to do a fusion with me,” said Arame. “I used the Potara recently, and I don’t have as much energy as I need.”  
Ranch looked at her quizzically. “Potara? I’m talking about a fusion dance.”  
Goten blinked. “You know it?”  
“Yeah, of course I do, you dolt,” Ranch retorted.  
“Well, I can do it with you!” Goten told her. “I’m not out of action just yet!”  
Ranch looked at him with a raised eyebrow. After a few seconds, she said, “You’d better hope you’re right, cousin.”  
They took up the positions and readied their stances. Arame was still perplexed by the whole fusion pose and dance maneuver, but after the resultant flash she could only stare in wonder.   
The girl before her had long spiky black hair, and a green ribbon in her hair. Her Gi was black and green, with a green sash tied around her waist. She had the intense eyes of a Saiyan, and looked up at the battle above with cold, calculating eyes.  
“This should tip the scales,” she said, Goten and Ranch’s voices overlapping, as was standard for fusion. She charged her Ki and powered up to the Ascended Super Saiyan level, a grade two.   
Arame powered her Ki as well, but she couldn’t quite muster the strength to go Super Saiyan anymore. “What do I call you?”  
The fusion girl looked at her. “We are Ranten!” She leaped into the air and dashed right at Turles and Cooler, taking them both by surprise. Arame joined her, hoping she could provide some assistance.  
Goku was still managing to hold his own, but only barely. However, the arrival of Ranten was destined to even the field. She slammed Cooler with all her might, landing a series of strikes that had him in the dirt in moments.  
Arame hit Turles with the same ferocity, but he managed to recover faster and locked fists with her. “Look at this,” he sneered. “Maybe you’re worth more to our race than I thought.”  
“Can it, you bastard!” Arame growled back. “Let’s finish this, Kakarot!”  
They both attacked Turles together, but he was still too fast for them. It just wasn’t right that he should be this strong, and he was still able to smash their guard and knock them around like ragdolls. Goku and Arame were just too exhausted to be able to resist.  
Meanwhile, Ranten was managing to hold her own against Cooler quite efficiently.  
She twisted her hands, charging a Ki blast. “Shining Kame-hame-ha!” A spiraling blast of purple and blue Ki energy was released from her outstretched hands, taking Cooler head on. He righted himself and fired a burst of thin Ki blasts right back at her.   
Ranten twisted her way around them, dashing beneath Cooler and striking him from below. He blocked with his tail. “Not bad!” He yelled, his mask making his voice sound almost metallic. “Where were you hiding?” He broke her guard and slammed her with a sweeping fist.   
Ranten twirled and flipped, connecting both of her feet with Cooler’s back, sending him soaring. She took off after him.  
Meanwhile, Turles was powering up a Ki blast that was sure to be the end of Arame and Goku.  
“Got any ideas, Arame?” asked Goku.  
“Just one,” Arame replied. She pulled the Potara from her pouch again. “It’s the only option.”  
Goku blinked in surprise. “You have Potara?”  
“A gift from Supreme Kai,” Arame said. She put one on her left ear and looked at Goku. “You okay with this idea, Kakarot?”  
“It’s the only choice we have,” he replied.  
“Then let’s finish this!” She tossed him the Potara. He put it on his right ear.  
By the time Turles fired his Ki blast, there weren’t two targets anymore. And the single individual left behind had enough energy to deftly dodge the strike.  
His hair looked very similar to Goku’s, but it was longer and spiked more at the top and back as well. Their Gi was orange and black, their features were slightly androgynous. They charged their Ki with a burst of power and a mighty yell.  
Turles smirked. “Will wonders never cease?”  
They opened their eyes, giving Turles the traditional ‘fierce Saiyan glare’. “Call us ‘Araku (pron: Ah-Rah-Ku). The fusion of Arame and Kakarot.”  
“Your power is still nothing compared to my own, fools,” Turles replied.  
“That’s where you’re wrong!” Araku retorted. “This fusion restored a lot of our energy.” He charged his power, and with another thunderous roar, he burst into the form of a Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan. “With our power restored, let us show you the power of Araku Blue!”  
Araku charged Turles with the speed only a divine being could have possessed and rushed him with a flurry of meteoric strikes that had Turles reeling and on the defensive. Araku followed up with a twisting kick that had Turles crashing to the dirt. A rush of Ki blasts followed him and hit home, dealing yet more damage.  
He took off from the crater in which he lay, and Araku gave chase, slamming him with a harsh elbow from the side.  
Turles hit several trees and ended up in a mountain. Once more, Araku was after him, slamming him with a strike so fierce it sent him through the mountain and clean through the other side.

Bulma was still tinkering away with her device.   
“I swear I have to keep changing the frequency output,” she grumbled. “These time fluctuations are getting out of control. I guess that means Chronos is doing something in the time stream?”  
“An astute assumption, Bulma,” Whis replied. “As it turns out, that is exactly what is happening. My lord and I have already pinpointed the exact location of the change as well. But before we can set about chasing down Chronos, we need to formulate a plan of action. But even that comes after dealing with this present mess.”  
“It’s a good thing Supreme Kai gave Arame those fusion earrings,” Bulma noted. “They might just be the key to getting rid of some of these baddies.”  
“But what happens when new versions of them come through the rifts?” Whis asked.  
“This isn’t a permanent fix, Whis,” Bulma told him. “Aren’t Lord Beerus and the Supreme Kai supposed to be here by now?”  
“They may have been delayed,” Whis replied. “It’s no easy matter acquiring a time ring. Especially after what Zamasu did.”  
Bulma sighed. “Yeah, I understand that.”  
Across the way, there was an eruption of energy and two streaks of energy went flying through the sky, one purple, one gold.  
“Oh, it looks like Ranten has started taking this seriously,” Whis said.  
“Who?” asked Bulma.

Ranten slammed Cooler a few more times, but in that time, he was able to retaliate and grab her with his tail, sending her flying to the ground. She was in her Super Saiyan form now, and she was eager to end this fight already. She jumped to her feet, and with every ounce of energy she could muster, she boosted herself to Super Saiyan Three.  
Cooler didn’t know what hit him, and this time he was obliterated by her Shining Kamehameha. With that, Ranten collapsed to the ground on all fours, panting.  
The fusion wore off a moment later, leaving both Ranch and Goten in the grass, catching their breath. “That worked,” Ranch gasped. “Good job, Goten…”  
“You…too,” he replied.  
High above them, Araku let off all of his energy in a stunning flash that obliterated Turles. But their fusion wore out just after the energy was spent as well.  
As Arame and Goku both crashed to the ground in exhaustion, Beerus and the Supreme Kai finally arrived with the time ring they’d promised to bring. They combined the power of the ring with Whis’s staff to send out a subtle shockwave that stretched across the planet, igniting everything in a sparkling glow for mere moments before things returned to normal.  
Bulma sat back on the grass and sighed. “Glad that’s over.”  
Everyone else was beginning to regain consciousness as well.

Girl-Gohan shook hands with her older male counterpart. “It was nice meeting you, Gohan. You should really keep up with your training from here on out.” She then looked over at Goku. “Good seeing you too, dad. After your sacrifice against Cell, it was nice getting to fight with you one more time.”  
“Sure thing, Gohan,” replied Goku.  
Ranch looked Girl-Gohan over. “You’re stronger than any other Gohan I know. It’s a shame we can’t go a few rounds ourselves. I’d love to test that strength of yours.”  
The Girl-Gohan smiled.  
Then, Ranch waved to everyone. “Nice meeting you guys! My dad’s never gonna believe this.”  
“Now, now,” Whis called out. “You two need to be sent back to your own timelines.” His staff flashed, still linked to the time ring. There were two surges of energy, and they were both gone. In their wake, they left an emptiness. Or so it seemed to Arame. They were just two people she’d never get to properly know, but their spirits were strong enough to echo across timelines.   
Perhaps that was all that mattered.  
“Now then,” said Beerus. “Since the rifts in time are stabilized for the moment, we need to discuss something else. Chronos has been located. I need to talk with our Saiyans soon. Meet us over at Capsule Corporation.”

-Break-

Arame, Vegeta, Goku, and Bulma all gathered with Whis and Beerus in one of the labs at the Corporation. Beerus looked especially perturbed, his ears twitching ever so slightly. Whis kept a light eye on him, eyebrows raised.  
At last, Beerus opened his eyes and said, “Chronos is in the Age 737, gathering destructive energy.”  
Vegeta started. “Like he was trying to do with Arame before?”  
“Exactly,” Whis replied. “Only this time he wants more of it in one go.”  
“So he picked the perfect place and time,” said Arame.   
Goku scratched his head. “What’s so special about Age 737?”  
“It’s when Freeza destroyed our homeworld, Kakarot!” Vegeta growled. He folded his arms. “That much destructive force released at once. He could easily get enough to erase anything he wanted.”  
“Indeed,” said Whis. “The fact that it hasn’t happened yet means that we still have a chance to stop him. But it can’t be through normal means.”  
“What do you mean?” asked Arame.  
“Well, to put it simply,” Whis went on, “one of you must go back to the past in pursuit of him.”  
The three Saiyans stared in surprise.  
Beerus gritted his teeth. “This is not something to be taken lightly, Saiyans. Ordinarily this wouldn’t even be considered. But if we don’t act, none of us will be here anymore. Your resistance has enraged the Time Keeper so much that he seeks to reset all of Universe 7 at once.”  
Arame, Goku, and Vegeta gasped in shock.  
“All at once?” Goku asked.  
“Yes, Goku,” Whis remarked.  
“So one of you is getting sent back to Age 737,” said Beerus. “You’re going to Planet Vegeta, and you’re going to find Chronos and put an end to him.”  
Bulma stepped up. “Well, wouldn’t it be more prudent to send all three of them?”  
“No, Bulma,” Whis replied. “You see, we can only harness enough power to send back a single individual.”  
“Well then, Vegeta would be the best choice, right?” Bulma went on.  
“That’s unwise,” Beerus said. “While he does understand the culture and the era quite well, he looks like his father and he would stand out. The last thing we need is to be drawing attention to our mission.”  
“And Goku certainly wouldn’t work either,” Whis said. “He knows nothing of Saiyan culture and would absolutely not be able to blend in.”  
“So that only leaves one option,” Bulma sighed.  
Every eye fell on Arame.  
She blinked. “Me…”  
“You have the best chance at blending in, Arame,” said Whis. “First of all, you still have your tail. Second, you know enough about Saiyan culture that you wouldn’t draw any undue attention to yourself. And of course, you are connected to Chronos. So you’re the best choice by far.”  
“Well, it shouldn’t be too bad,” said Bulma. “It is just an alternate dimension, right?”  
“Not this time,” Beerus told her. “We have to follow Chronos’s exact path with the time ring, and Whis will be able to keep the connection alive for as long as we need it, through a minor tether. We’ll explain more later. Right now, we need to set about making sure everything is in place. Arame is going to need some armor.”  
“Bulma can fabricate some,” Vegeta said.  
“Can I make some requests, if we’re doing that?” Arame asked.  
Bulma sighed again. “This is going to be a headache, I can just feel it…”

-End of Part Twelve-


	13. Part Thirteen

Seventeen: The Chase! Journey to the Past!

The night air was quiet. Peaceful.  
Arame looked down at the lights of West City from atop the tallest skyscraper. It was her last night before taking off for the fight of her life against Chronos. And this time, she would be traveling through time itself. Back to the one place she never thought she’d see again.  
I was homesick months ago when I arrived, wasn’t I? She asked herself. But now…I don’t know if I want to see it all again. What was I even missing? Showboating? Bar fights? Yelling? There’s nothing in that society that I want anymore. Not since I found something better.  
Arame inhaled and looked up at the stars. Then she exhaled deeply and closed her eyes.  
“I might not even come back from this fight,” she told herself. “Chronos is a powerful opponent. But I still have to try. And even if I don’t make it…I’ll have the memories.”  
“Talking to yourself?”  
Arame opened her eyes and turned around. Goten had arrived and stood a few feet behind her, looking concerned.  
“Just reflecting on the reality,” she told him.   
Goten sighed and joined her on the edge of the roof. “It’s all coming to an end then. This whole thing with Chronos is about to be over. One way or another.”  
“Yeah,” she said. She looked at him. “Thanks for coming, Goten. It’s nice having someone to talk to right about now.”  
“Well, I figured you could use some company,” he replied. “You seemed kind of lonely up here.”  
Arame thought for a second. “A month or so ago, I was feeling pretty lonely. Back when I was training with Vegeta. I felt like I was the loneliest person on the planet. I looked at Kakarot…and the prince…and they’d both moved on. They had family, friends, a happy life here. And I was like a relic from the past compared to them.   
“I didn’t know that Saiyans could be anything but angry warriors and brutal conquerors. But I saw what they had built, and I was confused at first. Then, I began to realize that we weren’t bound by our heritage. But I also felt like I wouldn’t be able to find something similar because I was too connected to my past.”  
Goten watched her silently while she spoke.  
Arame grimaced. “I never moved on, you know? I never…” She paused. “I can still see her face, Goten. My mother smiled when she put me into that pod. And that smile was the last thing I saw. I never said goodbye to her. I never made peace with my past either.  
“Now they’re sending me back in time. I’m going back to Planet Vegeta right before it was destroyed. Probably just a few days before. I finally have a chance to make peace with my past and rectify my mistake, but…”  
Goten got a bit of the picture. “You’re worried that you won’t come back from this? And you’re trying to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past, I guess.”  
Arame looked at him. “I just don’t want any loose ends. No regrets.”  
“You don’t have anything to regret, Arame,” said Goten. “In the brief time we’ve known you, you’ve brightened all of our lives. I’ve seen more action in the past month and a half than I’ve seen in years, and that’s pushed me to new heights. You’re the one who inspired that. You’re a magnificent woman. The strongest I know. And this won’t be the last we see of you. You will come back from this.”  
Arame watched Goten for a moment. Then she smiled. “Tell me more about how strong and magnificent I am.”  
Goten raised an eyebrow. “Well, your heart is strong. And you have a fierce look when you’re in the heat of a fight. It’s almost as distracting as your beauty.”   
Arame stared, eyes wide, blinking. “Beauty?”  
“Uh…” Goten turned red and swallowed nervously.  
“You think I’m beautiful?” Arame asked him.  
Goten steeled himself. “Yeah. Of course I do. I also think you’re intelligent, and you’re kind and you’re…getting really close. Why are you so close to me?”  
Arame had been crawling toward him, eyes locked with his. “Oh, no reason.” She paused. “Hey, Goten…got any plans for the rest of the evening?”  
Goten blinked. “Not particularly. Why?”  
Arame crawled over him and pushed him back onto the hard plaster. “Because I think we can make a few memories tonight. Ones that will have me fighting to come back with all my heart.” She pinned him and leaned in close. Goten’s mind was racing as her face got really close to his. “I know you’re interested in me. So how about we make it official.”  
“You’re being very forward, Arame,” Goten replied.  
“Maybe I am,” Arame said. “Is that bad?”  
Goten blinked a few more times. “No, actually.”  
Arame smirked. “Well then, how about I show you what my tail can do, hm?” 

-Break-

“It’s all ready to go,” said Bulma to Trunks. “I designed the armor exactly to Arame’s specifications, and I even fabricated her a custom scouter. At the very least, she won’t draw too much attention.”  
“That’s great,” Trunks replied. “She sets out tomorrow?”  
“Yep,” said Bulma. “I should let her know. Where is she?”  
“She said something about alone time,” Trunks remarked. “I think Goten’s with her too.”  
Bulma started. “What?” She grinned mischievously. “Oho my…she’d better hope Chi-Chi doesn’t find out if they’re doing what I think they are.”  
Trunks stared at his mother. “Well, mom, I don’t think that’s really any of our business. She’s about to head out for the fight of her life against a foe who can threaten a whole universe.” He paused. “I think she deserves at least something, don’t you? To remind her of what she’s fighting for?”  
Bulma blinked. “And how is having sex supposed to help with that?”  
Trunks just stared at her.

Arame refastened her pants and glanced back at the still sleeping Goten. Then she looked at the sunrise that was beginning to break over the horizon. “I guess it’s time…”  
Goten opened his eyes slowly. Clearly, he wasn’t still sleeping. “Give him hell, Arame. We’ll be rooting for you.”  
She looked down at Goten and smiled again. “I appreciate the confidence you have in me.”  
They stared at each other for a long moment. Then Arame said, “I’ll come back to you. To all of you. Count on it.”  
Goten smirked. “See you when you get back, then.”  
Arame leapt off the building and flew off toward Capsule Corporation, a new sense of elation filling her. She was finally beginning to feel what it was like having something worth fighting for. That would drive her forward when nothing else would.

At Capsule Corporation’s lab, Arame had expected to find Beerus, Whis, Bulma, and Vegeta waiting for her. But she hadn’t expected to find Piccolo, Gohan, Videl, Kakarot, and Trunks as well.   
She blinked in surprise. “What are all of you doing here?”  
“Gohan and I are here for support,” said Videl.  
“I’m here at the behest of Supreme Kai,” Piccolo noted.  
“Trunks and Goku are just here because they’re curious,” Bulma pitched in. “Anyway, I have your armor ready in that other room, as well as everything else you’ll need.”  
“Once you’re prepared, we can begin,” Whis added. “We’re just making some last minute checks at the moment.”  
Arame nodded. Inside of the side lab, she found a set of Saiyan armor laid out for her. Gauntlets, boots, leggings and all. Next to it was a scouter. Arame felt into her pocket and found the Potara that the Supreme Kai had given her there.  
“Emergencies,” she muttered. She would take them with her.  
The armor was made according to her specifications. It was a sleeveless design, a strap style that allowed for more freedom of arm movement, and there were no gaudy shoulder guards. Those were marks of higher class warriors anyhow. She pulled on the leggings, stepped into the boots, and strapped on the gauntlets.  
The last thing she did was attach her scouter to her ear. She caught a glimpse of herself in a blank screen afterward. She looked every part a Saiyan warrior, and it made her feel weird in the pit of her stomach.

“Well, that brings back memories,” said Beerus as Arame stepped out before them.  
She sighed. “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous about changing history while I’m there.”  
“And well you should be,” Whis interjected.   
“Seen as how the survival of our timeline is at stake here, I will allow for some liberties to be taken,” said Beerus. “But one event must not be changed, or there could be dire consequences.”  
Arame nodded. “I understand.”  
“Ready, Arame?” Bulma asked.  
“Ready.” Arame then noticed Goten out of the corner of her eye, who must have come for the same reason Trunks was here. Curiosity and support.  
“We’ll keep an eye on you through Whis’s staff,” said Beerus. “You’re going to be sent to a point at around the same time Chronos arrived. With luck, you’ll be right near where he is and we can finish this quickly. Find him and end him. Or at least knock him out of the time stream…if you can manage it.”  
Arame nodded again. “I’ll get it done.”  
“Then good luck,” Whis replied. He tapped his staff on the floor.  
A bright green light emanated from the staff and enveloped Arame. It was then that she noticed the time ring floating just above his staff, its power shimmering as well. The light grew, the power swelled, and then there was a blinding flash.  
Arame shielded her eyes.

-Break-

When the light faded, Arame found herself in a strange place. There were great curved rock formations twisting around her, white and yellow trees danced in the breeze that played softly around her, and in the distance she could see great skyscrapers.  
“Did it…work?” Arame looked around suspiciously. “This doesn’t look like Planet Vegeta.”   
A low peal of thunder shook the air, and Arame felt the first few drops of rain.  
Suddenly, her scouter clicked. “Arame?” Bulma’s voice said from within. “Can you hear us?”  
Arame clicked her scouter. “Bulma? Is that you? How are you--?”  
“Whis’s power allows us to maintain a connection to you,” Bulma replied. “Even across timelines and dimensions.”  
“Well, this isn’t Planet Vegeta,” Arame replied. “Where am I?”  
“You are on Solex,” said Whis calmly. “According to historical records it became known as Freeza planet 263 sometime around now. One of the last planets to be conquered by the Saiyans for Freeza actually.”  
Arame looked up. “But not yet? Where are the other Saiyans?”  
“Not on planet yet, apparently.”  
Arame grimaced. So I’m in a hostile zone on my own?  
She looked upward and to her left. In the great distance, she saw a ship descending into the atmosphere, and it looked a lot like one of the Freeza transport ships. That must be them. She took off in that direction. However, the gravity of the planet was lighter than Earth’s, so her jump into the air took her higher than she expected.  
Yet she compensated, concentrated her Ki, and took off toward the landing ship. Arame found that the ship was destined for a rather small spaceport. She landed on a rocky plateau and crouched down at the sheer ledge to observe.  
There were quite a number of workers and soldiers, and two rather large cannons that looked like they would become a problem for the ship as it got closer.  
As she watched, a few of the humanoid beings present pointed upward at the descending ship. They were orange skinned and looked a little impish, with horns and all. The pointing caused the soldiers to frantically rush about for a moment, and then the cannons lit up, coming online.  
“Uh oh,” Arame muttered.  
“Arame,” said Beerus’s voice in her ear, “do what you have to in order to ensure that your fellow Saiyans land safely.”  
“But they’re…”  
“They die quickly now, or slowly later,” Beerus replied. “Now do your job.”  
Arame stood and looked from the ship to the spaceport. “Right!” She started charging her inner Ki, building her power to go Super Saiyan.  
“ARAME!”  
The voice of Vegeta stopped her.  
“Don’t you dare! If you become a Super Saiyan, you’ll alter history!” Vegeta sounded very angry. Not good. “Rely on your own battle power.”  
Arame inhaled and exhaled slowly. She wrapped her tail around her waist and yelled with power. The soldiers below paused and looked up at her as she soared down at them. She blasted one of the cannons with a powerful Ki blast that destroyed it instantly. A second blast took the second cannon out of commission as well.  
The soldiers pointed rifles at Arame as she landed. She gave them her best Saiyan glare. They all got nervous as she observed them.  
“A Saiyan! They sent a vanguard!” One soldier whimpered.  
“It’s not just any Freeza soldiers,” said another soldier. “Those are Saiyans in that ship…”  
Arame spat. “You’re pathetic. Cowering before a low class Saiyan? How dare you call yourselves warriors.” She raised her hands and blasted them, destroying them instantly.  
“Now keep it up,” Vegeta ordered her in her ear. The scouter clicked again, severing their link for the time being.  
But they were still observing her, and they could hear everything around her as well.

The Saiyan ship landed among the wreckage.  
Arame was wracking her brain on how to present this situation to the new arrivals. How do I explain this? What can I say? She steeled her face and her mind and decided to go with the vanguard story.  
The ship opened and eight Saiyans stepped out. The one in front looked like the unit commander. They were mostly male, but there were two female Saiyans, counting a young girl who must’ve been in her training period. She looked like she was about five or six.  
They all stopped and stared at Arame.  
She folded her arms and glared at them. “What took you so long?”  
The commander was caught off guard by her fierceness. “What?”  
“I’ve been waiting here for hours,” Arame replied.  
“I wasn’t told there would be a vanguard,” the commander replied. “Who are you? Give me a name.”  
Arame decided to take a risk here. “Mizuna.”  
“Well, Mizuna,” the commander clicked on his scouter. “Let’s see where your battle power’s at so I’ll know where to put you.”   
Arame hastily suppressed her power level.  
Yet the commander’s eyes widened when he saw the number. “One thousand?” He looked at her. “There’s no way…” He paused for a moment. “Alright then, I’m putting you in charge of our little scouting group over there. The two girls. The older one is named Coli; her power is about eight-hundred. The little brat goes by Arame.”  
Arame’s heart skipped a beat in shock. She didn’t let it show on her face though. “Your job is to keep a check on them. They’re still new to the military.”  
Arame nodded.   
The Saiyans all split off, leaving Arame alone with Coli, and a girl who may or may not have been her younger self.

A little bit later, the three of them were standing on a different nearby plateau, reviewing an overlay map of the planet. “Not a lot of settlements,” said Coli. “The big one looks like the most promising. If we can take it, we can take the whole planet.  
“The others are splitting into teams of two to hit the outlying settlements and defenses. So we need to stick to our original orders and scout out the big one.”  
Arame nodded. “Sounds like a plan.” She looked up.   
The little Saiyan girl was staring at her. “Why do you have my mother’s name?”  
Coli looked from one to the other. “Actually, now that she mentions it…why indeed?”  
Arame was the one caught off guard now. “Uh…I really can’t say.”  
Kid Arame stood up and crossed her arms. “You look like her too. You have her hair.” She blinked. “You have…my hair.”  
“It’s really not a big issue,” said Arame.  
Kid Arame looked unimpressed. “I don’t think you are who you say you are.”  
Arame looked at Coli. “Are we going to stand here and debate or are we going to fight like we’re supposed to? We’re wasting time!”  
Coli and Kid Arame watched her for a moment, and then nodded.   
Arame sighed in relief. “Alright, now let’s get to work.”  
Fortunately for Arame, Coli and her younger self had some mastery over Ki controlled flight. They floated near the grand city, observing its defenses. There were plenty of air cars with turrets mounted upon them. Turrets atop the buildings and on the walls. The city looked ready for combat.  
“Maybe we should wait for the rest of the team,” Coli said nervously.  
“Yeah,”  
“You call yourselves Saiyans?” said Arame, looking back at them harshly.   
“I’m six!” Yelled Kid Arame. “My battle power is two-hundred fifty!”  
Arame clenched her fist. “That’s plenty strong enough. Now let’s begin the assault!” She readied her hands and fired a barrage of Ki blasts from both palms that erupted far below, sending buildings toppling to the ground.  
“Hit them hard and stay alive!” Arame yelled. She wasn’t very good at giving orders, but she hoped that she would be the one the defenses would focus on.  
She flew right into the center of the city and erupted her Ki outward in an explosion, taking more buildings down and turning them to rubble. The defenses were still coming online while she was obliterating them one at a time.  
Gotta get this done fast! She told herself. Remember the mission. Chronos is on Vegeta.  
With that knowledge in her mind, Arame’s destructive force came faster and harder than ever before. By the time she was finished, there was nothing left but smoking rubble and ruined buildings.   
The only one left was a grand structure built into a mountain nearby. It looked like a temple of some sort. Arame headed straight for it and landed at its arched doors. Coli and Kid Arame joined her.  
“That was incredible,” said Coli. “What kind of power do you have?”  
“Never mind that,” Arame said. “If there’s a leader in here, we need to eliminate him.”  
They found nothing inside but statues. However, it was a temple of some description.   
“Nothing,” Coli said. “I think it’s just a temple. Nothing major about it.”  
“Wait!” She called out. “Feel that?”  
Coli looked at her funnily. “What?”  
Dammit, Arame, they can’t sense power, Arame thought. “I think someone’s coming.” She could sense three powers approaching the temple.  
They arrived a moment later. Three might warriors all flew into the temple to stand before them. They wore standard battle armor, and they had a lot of muscle.  
“Who are they?” asked Coli.  
“We are our planet’s strongest warriors,” said the first one. “This was a brazen attack, Saiyans. I would have thought you would bring more warriors to assault us. But you three caused all of this chaos?”  
Arame said nothing. Coli was getting angry. “What if we did?” She grinned maliciously. “It was kind of fun watching your city go up in smoke.”  
Arame knew she was putting on a tough face. She could feel the fear in Coli’s aura.  
Kid Arame backed away, looking visibly frightened. “Their battle power…is five-thousand!”  
Coli looked at her and checked herself. Her eyes widened in fear as well. “No way…”  
Coli and Kid Arame backed up in fear.  
The older Arame stood her ground. “Your battle power doesn’t scare me.”  
One of the soldiers took a battle stance. “You should rethink that, Saiyan.” He charged her.  
She blocked his fist with ease and gave him her best Vegeta glare. “Try again for a zenie?”  
The warrior stared. “What?”  
Arame kicked him away and sent him sprawling into a column.  
For a moment, the other two warriors were stunned into silence. Arame took her battle stance and readied herself for combat. Compared to her training, these guys were nothing. “I’ve met children with more battle power than you.”  
The other two warriors yelled and charged her with everything they had. Arame dodged and deflected their attacks effortlessly. There was a strong burst of energy as Arame powered her Ki, knocking them back.  
The warriors then began chanting. Suddenly, barriers seemed to form around their bodies. They glistened and shimmered in the minimal light. This time when they charged forward, their auras repulsed Arame. She backpedaled and received a strong sweeping kick that took her legs out from under her.   
Arame caught herself with her right hand and twisted, launching herself at one of them. He blocked her kick and sent her into the air with an uppercut. Arame came down with a mighty fist that cracked a crater into the floor.  
She lashed out, but the aura stopped her fist straight on.  
“Huh?”  
Arame was knocked back.  
The third warrior was back on his feet now and had his own aura up. Arame had no idea what it was, but while it was active they were untouchable. She was getting irritated now. “I’m not in the mood for this shit! I have a job to do!”  
Again she launched herself at them. Again they traded blows. But after a moment, they sent her away again. They followed her this time, all three rushing at her at once.  
Arame was angry now. Her body was enveloped in a golden glow and her aura was flaring. “Enough!” She yelled, outstretching her hands suddenly. The force of energy pushed the three warriors back.  
Arame shut her eyes and opened them again. They’d gone from black to blue.  
She growled as she pulled her arms inward, to be tucked next to her ribs and balled her hands into fists. Her growl rose to become a yell, and then finally a roar as the ground quaked and a golden flame erupted from her body.   
Her Ki exploded, and Super Saiyan Arame emerged.  
The three alien warriors stared in shock. “Who…what are you?”  
Arame yelled again, her Ki rushing outward in a torrent of what felt like heated air. “I am the legend borne out of time! I am the hope and fear of the universe! The beginning of strength and a sword of righteous FURY!” She glared at them menacingly. “I am Arame! And I am a SUPER SAIYAN!”  
She held her hand out and her explosion of Ki enveloped the warriors. They were obliterated in an instant.  
With that done, she powered down to her base form.  
There was a whimpering noise behind her at that moment. Arame turned and saw Coli, and her kid self, cowering in a corner, staring at her in horror.  
Arame’s eyes widened. “Oh…shit…” I completely forgot they were here.

-End of Part Thirteen-

(Author’s Note: I’m going to try and keep this as true to the Dragonball canon as I can, but I am going to have to alter some things. Of course, the creator does that all the time. In any event, I’m also trying to showcase a more realistic Dragonball universe, so some liberties have been taken. And I did replicate Goku’s Super Saiyan speech intentionally. Bear with me.)


End file.
